Forsaken 2: Origin of the Species
by Dani Camden
Summary: It has been a year since Emma, Jimmy and Layla saved the world. After foiling her plan and defeating the Inanna, the three settled in to life as usual, or as usual can be for a Vampire Slayer, her twin genius brother, and a sharp tongued witch who speaks
1. Chapter 1

**Origin of the Species**

**By Dani A. Camden**

**Chapter One:**

**Creatures of the Night**

Charlie stood behind one of the brick columns of the Walnut Grove Savings and Loan. He ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair before putting his hands in the pockets of his worn denim jacket. Although it was dark, he didn't have any trouble making out the fine details of the face of the girl across the street exiting the drug store. Her smooth olive skin, the mole under her right eye, the green flex in her eyes that exploded from her pupils making a starburst pattern in the soft brown rings of her irises and even the tiny trail of freckles that went from her smallish ear, passed her cheeks and over her nose to the other ear. It excited him how her straight chocolate hair caressed the tops of her bare shoulders in the gentle evening spring breeze. Her blue cotton sundress clung to her well toned frame and billowed along with her hair. She carried her white plastic shopping bag in her left hand and as she walked, it slapped her thigh causing her to let out a slight whimper. The nail file that she had purchased in the store had protruded through the thin plastic and nicked her delicate skin. Charlie's eyes grew wide with anticipation as he watched her stop to wipe the blood with her finger and then bring it to her lips to suck it away.

The smell filled his nostrils making him swoon. It was almost over powering. He felt as if he had walked back into his grandmother's kitchen and the smell of warm, thick, sweet molasses surrounded his senses. He wanted to take her then. His hunger was so strong that he could no long control his eye teeth from increasing to razor sharp points. But, Charlie knew, that anonymity was just as important and crucial as the feeding it's self. And at nine pm Down Town on a Saturday, there were way too many people on the streets for him to run out and forcefully steal her away.

So for now he stood and he stalked, keeping to the shadows. He watched every move. Everytime she smoothed her hair behind her ears, everytime she adjusted her shopping bag, and every step she took; he followed along behind statues and trees.

His heart seized as he saw that she had begun to cross the street and was headed right in front of him. Charlie prepared himself for the confrontation; smiling and swaggering. He picked his prey carefully and she was perfect. This one was everything that he looked for; beautiful, buxom and alone.

He followed behind her steadily inhaling her scent as he loomed closer. The longer she marched; she began to sweat. He could see the clear salty liquid begin to drip down her neck and pool in her collar bone. Charlie fought his every urge to run at her at full speed, wrap his arms around her tiny waist, sink his diamond hard teeth into her brackish jugular while forcing his now stiffened member into her inaccessible feminine self.

The young woman started to feel that Charlie was following her so she quickened her step. Her anxiety heightened as the main streets of down town began to fall away leaving her vulnerable and alone in the darkness of the night. Their foot falls began to fall out of synch as his anxiety grew. She was sure that someone was following her now! She could hear his steps in between hers and as she glanced quickly over her left shoulder she saw his menacing silhouette looming closer. She tried to hide her panic, fearful that her acknowledgment of his presence would prompt him to attack before she could run. But, she couldn't control herself. It was as if her body panicked on it's own despite her will. She let go of her white plastic shopping bag letting various fruits and eggs splatter all along the pavement. Her legs pumped faster and her breath became erratic. The pain in her chest from her pounding heart was almost unbearable. Her fear became acid salt in the back of her throat and she cursed herself under her breath for not taking Erin up on her offer of a ride home. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up but still she pushed herself harder. Although the drumming of her frantic heart filled her ears, she could still hear his feet slash through the puddles of raw egg a fruit that she had made behind her. She felt the urge to look back over her shoulder. She knew she shouldn't; she knew he was still there. So, why couldn't she help herself? She continued to lecture herself on the reasons for not looking back. It could slow her down. Looking back, she obviously would not be able to watch where she was running and she could trip and fall. She reminded herself of times past when she gave into her urges and how they always seemed to result in disaster. This, ofcourse, was why she did not drink tequila anymore. But in the end, her urges got the better of her and she looked back over her left shoulder.

Charlie was half crazed. Her fear was mounting so that it was seeping through her pores. His senses were overwhelmed and he couldn't help his metamorphosis into the beast that he was. It felt good to him. It was like taking off a pair of uncomfortable shoes after a long day. His false skin peeled back and his true form emerged.

The young woman was horrified! She felt as though her eyes would explode from their sockets from what they perceived. The skin of his face stretched and then tore away. He shook it off as it was nothing at all. What lay beneath was grey a twisted. It looked like his features were stretched to the other side of his face and never really found their way back. He snarled as he continued to chase her and his black and yellow swirl eyes glowed like fiery torches in the blackness. She opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was a weakened whimper. She wanted so badly to cry out, to scream for help. But her voice was lost some where in the middle of her throat. She could feel it there, like a lump of chewed jerky refusing to go down. Sweat covered her body and she felt cold and numb. She screamed in her brain.

"God, please! PLEASE! I have to get away! HELP! What do I do!"

She forced her legs to continue to pump as hard as they could. Throwing her knees up again and again; her feet hit the ground so little that her shoes fell away leaving her to run barefoot on the hard unforgiving pavement. She was finally able to tear her gaze away from the horror that pursued her and focus on where she was running. But where was that exactly? Away. That was where she was going. Just away from the nightmarish monster that continued on his chase. They had left the main part of town a ways back and now the streets were empty, derelict and with out lamps. The only way she could see at all, was the glimmer of moonlight that escaped through the trees every once and a while. The beast behind her snarled in hunger; her voice was startled from its prison and she loosed a high squeal and began to cry loudly. Her tender, well manicured feet took on the abuse from the crag-like, serrated surface beneath them. Everytime she took another step, the jagged pavement tore into flesh causing her to wince from the pain.

Charlie was getting closer. The blood from the cuts on her feet was fueling his desire and drool ran down from the corners of his gnarled mouth. He knew that he could catch her at anytime and end this chase, but that's what would make the kill so much sweeter. This was a good hunt. He would take his time with this one. Charlie would let her run and fight as long as she wanted. He would let her tire herself out. And then, when she couldn't go any more, he would begin his art.

The young woman was getting tired. Her legs were cramping and the pain in her feet was excruciating. It was as if her body was fighting against her resolve; it was betraying her. She sobbed heavily as her traitor body began to slow and tingle with exhaustion. Just as she was cursing her limbs for giving up, her bleeding and swollen feet found their way into a pothole and her body was flung forward. Before she could accept what was happening, she found herself slamming face first down onto the pavement. She could hear his foot falls slow to a casual walk, and her mind began to fly into a panic. She screamed inside herself to keep moving, to get away, but all she could manage was one hand clawing at the broken sidewalk to try to pull herself forward. She could hear him breathing deeply above her and he spoke in his graveling, echoing voice.

"Now that I'm finished with the appetizer, time for the main course!"

She had exerted herself so much from her attempted escape, that her sobs had become wheezes and gasps for air. Realizing that she wasn't getting very far on her stomach, she used what strength she had to roll to her back and try using her legs to push her along. Blood dripped down from her busted nose down her lips and clotted on her chin. She felt the hot queasiness rise up in her abdomen. This was it wasn't it? This was how it was all going to end! She was nothing more than a midnight snack for a creature she once thought was nothing more than myth! With nothing left to do, she closed her eyes and prayed like she did when she was a child.

"Oh God," she mumbled, "Please, please, I don't want to die! Help me!"

Charlie took a step forward and was about to crouch down when suddenly, something came flying from his right and knocked him to the ground.

The young woman's eyes widen with shock. Had her prayers been answered?

"Are you an angel?" she stammered.

The person rose and dusted their self off.

"Nope, unfortunately I couldn't afford the dues. And all that wearing white just makes my butt look bigger." Emma Hogan brushed her long, wavy, dark brown hair out of her face and smiled sarcastically. Charlie stirred while he laid in a clump on the ground against a brick wall.

"Excuse me." Emma said raising a finger. She turned and headed for the direction of the surprised vampire. As she closed in, he was able to raise his left leg and kick her in her abdomen sending her flying five feet back. Emma skidded along the broken sidewalk until she stopped right back infront of the battered young woman where she started. Slapping the ground in frustration, she awkwardly pushed herself up from the ground. She felt of her elbow and was appalled to find a large hole torn through her dark denim jacket. She whipped her head back up and snarled at Charlie. Without a second thought and before Charlie could form one, she was sprinting for him at a deadly speed. Emma grabbed the vamp by the shoulders, sprung upwards into a handstand and landed back down on to the ground flinging Charlie forward into the wall like a wet sponge. Before he had time to slide back down, Emma had stamped her foot, retrieved the stake that had launched from her leg and staked him till he had burned to cinders.

The young woman had been lying on the ground the whole time in complete astonishment. She looked at her savior, who was now crouching next to her, with wild blinking eyes. It wasn't so often that prayers were answered so literally and so quickly. At least not in her experience.

"What just happened?" She stammered.

"You were just mugged. And you are in shock which would explain the crazy hallucinations you just had. But don't worry, you are going to go to sleep and when you wake up you will be in the hospital."

The young woman smiled and nodded as Emma, unbeknownst to the young woman, reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved a syringe that looked more like an ink pen than anything.

"I know what I saw. I saw God send me a warrior angel to rescue me form the demon." The young woman smiled once more as she thought of her rescue.

"Yeah that's another thing. When the cops are taking your statement, you might want to leave that whole 'warrior angel' thing out of it. Or else you might be staying at the hospital a little longer. And in a whole different wing." With that Emma applied the syringe to the woman's neck and pressed the button. A quick release of air, and the woman closed her eyes, surrendering to the deep sleep.

Emma stood and pulled a small silver cell phone from her other pocket and dialed three numbers.

"Yes, I was driving down Washington Street and I saw what looked like a young woman unconscious on the sidewalk near the 7th street intersection. What? Sorry? Sorry! I'm losing you!" Once she finished her rouse convincing the 911 operator that she had a bad connection, she quickly closed the phone and placed it back in her pocket.

The soft rumble of her brother's old blue Dodge disturbed the eerie silence and signaled to Emma that her ride was there.

"Are we ready Super Hero?" Jimmy asked sarcastically. He leaned over onto the passenger seat and looked at his twin sister over his glasses. With a quick jerk and a shove he had opened the passenger door.

Emma took another look at the sedated beauty on the sidewalk and headed for the open truck door. As soon as she had grasped the handle, Jimmy pressed down on the gas peddle making the truck jumped forward which made the door handle wrench out of Emma's hand and forced her to fall forward. As she regained her bearings the truck came to a halt and Jimmy erupted into laughter.

"HAHAHAH! You should have seen the look on your face!" He laughed for another minute or so while Emma stood with her hand on her hip staring right through Jimmy. "Oooo, Ok. Get in. Let's go home!" Jimmy chuckled and gestured for his unamuzed sister to get into the truck. She huffed loudly and made for the vehicle again. But as before, as soon as her fingers grazed the door handle, Jimmy pressed down on the gas and jerked the truck forward a few feet.

Emma skipped along with the blue beast for a moment and then stood stalk still rolling her eyes in distaste. She quickly surveyed the area to make sure that no one was around to see her brother's embarrassing prank at her expense. Jimmy continued to howl with delight inside the truck. Without moving her feet, Emma leaned forward and reached for the truck door handle. But of course, before her fingertips could graze the surface of the chipped and slightly rusted chrome, the truck lurched forward and Jimmy howled. Emma quickly whipped her body back upright and fumed.

"Quit being a loser Jimmy! Just let me get in the truck!"

"Fine! Ok Get in!" Jimmy relented and allowed Emma to open the truck door. As she exhaled in relief, she got the sense that this was too easy and before she could fully catch what Jimmy was thinking, the truck yanked forward and knocked her back out of the truck!

"JIMMY!" Emma screamed as she kicked the side of the old truck!

"Hey! No need to kick Babe! Seriously, get in. We're late." Once again as she made for the truck he slowly applied pressure to the gas making the truck gently roll forward. Emma decided that she wasn't playing anymore and that she was just going to jump in. As she made her move Jimmy carefully increased speed until his sister was running along side the truck with him calling out encouragement.

"C'mon pokey! You can do it! Seriously Emma, we need to go so stop messing around, ok!" Finally her hard work paid off. With a little burst of speed, Emma grabbed hold of the open truck door and held on tight. She pulled herself up on to the running board and flung her body into the truck.

"Jesus, what took you so long? I was so tired of waiting that I was about to leave!" Jimmy said sarcastically.

"If you tell anyone, I am showing EVERYONE what you DVR every week!"

"_Gilmore Girls _is one of this season's most critically acclaimed comedy, slash, drama, and is America's number one guilty pleasure!"

"Yes…. For girls."

"Hey! Luke is a very man's man character!" Jimmy defended.

"Ok, I get that. But, why is it saved on MY play list?" Emma sat calmly with her arms folded across her chest and watched her brother squirm.

"Fine. I won't tell anyone that you looked less than super-hero running after the truck."

"Ok, then I won't tell anyone that you watch sappy, girly girl girl TV like a sissy girl!" Emma stuck out her tongue and truck sped up and sputtered off into the darkened streets of down town Walnut Grove.


	2. No Rest For the Not so Well Rested

**Chapter Two:**

**No Rest for The Not-So-Well Rested**

Emma awoke with a start. The loud clangs of pots and pans and forced hissing from the coffee machine had jerked her from a sound sleep. Emma rolled over in her soft and tousled bed and searched the darkness for the violent red glow of her alarm clock. 7:00 am.

"Crap." She plopped back over onto her pillow and pouted. "Silly me I should have sound proofed the room when I covered the windows."

"JIMMY! UNPLUG YOUR SELF FROM THAT BLOODY COMPUTER AND EAT SOMETHING!" It was Layla screeching for Jimmy, as usual, to pull away from his laptop. It seemed that over the last year their relationship had moved from fresh and new stage to the familiar and comfortable stage. Which meant Layla did a lot of screeching and Jimmy was used to it. That is if he lifted his head up from his work bench long enough to hear. It wasn't that they were unhappy, and it wasn't as if they fought all the time. It was just how their personalities were. Jimmy had always been easy going and a workaholic; Layla had always been fiery and opinionated. Although Emma found it a constant source for confusion and amazement, they seemed to like each other that way and whenever together, seemed hopelessly blissful. It was that that Emma envied. That contentment and safety that soaked the air when they we together. When Layla would walk across a room, Emma could feel Jimmy's heart skip a beat and rise up into his throat. It didn't take their unusual twin connection to see that Jimmy was happy with Layla just the way she was.

"JIMMY!" Came another screech. Emma sighed and yanked a pillow over her head trying to mute the madness that was her house in the mornings. "You have to hurry! I don't want to be late for my appointment!"

"Oh for the love of God Jimmy. Just do what the woman says so she'll shut up!" Emma mumbled from underneath the pillow. She had given up on sleeping in. It was a dream she chased every morning; a sort of test. "Let's see how late I can get away with sleeping in this morning!" But like the vivid visions that still woke her in the night from her sound sleeping, her notions were still just dreams. It was always something. If not Layla's constant incapacity to lower her blaring fog horn of a mouth, or Jimmy's projects and experiments going horribly wrong, shaking the house with a loud explosion followed by Jimmy's cries of "Everything's fine! That's what it's supposed to do!" Than it was Emma's traitor of a bladder forcing her weary body to rise from its comfortable state and relieve it. And once she emerged from her inner sanctum there was no going back! As soon as the others knew that she was awake, they would make it impossible for her to go back to bed!

This time it was Layla and her bladder. Emma reached over with her right hand and without removing the pillow from her face, searched the side of the bed for her prosthetic that she had propped up last night. Emma's fingertips had found the sticky surface of the silicone liner that was worn under the actual prosthetic. She had always draped it over the leg to keep it clean and free of dust. But as she moved to pull it up towards her, the liner snagged the leg and knocked it to the ground causing a series of loud hallow taps. The jolt of the sudden reverberating bangs from the leg falling over onto the hardwood floor was like a thousand needles stabbing into her skin all over her body at once.

"Damn it!" She cursed through her teeth. Pushing the pillow and covers back, she sluggishly sat up and picked the liner off of the floor. Dust, hair, and a broken corn chip clung to it and she held it up in disgust. "Great."

"I know you're up Ahab! Maybe you could grace us with your presence and possibly help me convince your brother of the same!" Layla barked her orders from the other side of the bedroom door. Emma rolled her eyes and made a mocking face. Tossing the dirtied liner aside, she reached into the side table and pulled out a fresh one.

Layla stood at the doorway to the basement stairs like the frustrated commander of a battleship. She looked the epitome of grace and beauty in her blue silk, Moroccan tunic belted at her waist. The sun glinted off of the beads and sequins embroidered around the deep v-necked collar and sleeves. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that still reached the middle of her back. It was a rare occasion to catch her jeans let alone such fashionable boot cut low-risers. Normally long gauze skirts were her forte, but today she even forwent the accustomed sandals for an adorable pair of narrow toed black boots. Her crystal chandelier earrings clacked almost musically as she shook her head in aggravation at Jimmy's tardiness. Emma yawned as she walked passed as Layla argued with thin air.

"I really don't have time for this today." Layla reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose in a massaging motion. "All of you! Shut up!"

Emma chuckled as she watched Layla struggle with her other worldly pests.

"Ok, Woman with the barmy hat that loots like a dead bird, you come back in three hours, say about eleven. You sir with the eye… thing, you come back an hour after that at noon. And YOU, the arsehole that won't stop screaming in my bloody ear about: 'Oh boo hoo I'm late for my big game!' Your Dead genius! You missed it, they lost, go away! I however AM late for an appointment and I still have the corporeal-ality to be there. Was it not making sense to you that I'm the only one who can see you and that you haven't needed to go to the bathroom is , oh say, A COUPLE OF YEARS! You fly on up there to grandma who is no doubt waiting for you with a big plate of yummy cookies. Now everyone go poof!" Layla waved them off like a swarm of flies and went back to glaring down the stairs.

Emma sat down at the table and stuffed a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "This appointment must be important. You took it awfully easy on those spooks."

"Yeah well, I would rather waste my energies on getting your brother to drop me at the Grove Café." Layla brushed the bangs from her eyes and leaned against the door frame.

"Why don't you just take the truck and drive yourself?" Emma mumbled spitting some milk onto her chin.

"Well, first of all I lack a license, and secondly, he won't let me." Layla stomped down on the floor and yelled Jimmy's name once more.

"Hey, are those my boots?" Emma asked with a tinge of disapproval.

"Oh please, you taste isn't this good."

Emma scowled and slurped her cereal. The adjustment into this new family life with Layla had been smoother than she would have expected. Maybe it had something to do with the situation that encircled her sudden arrival in their lives. With her help, they discovered the true origins of Emma's abilities, the secret past of the Hogan family, rescued Jimmy from a psychotic vampire god; destroying the Inanna's power source in the process, and not to mention Layla banishing a very unstable Goddess of Balance all by herself while bleeding to death. The Hogan twins knew they couldn't have done it without her. Even though the medium still tried her patience at least once a day, Emma conceded her opposition and now considered Layla Fellows a member of the family.

Emma looked down at the new pictures that hung on the wall. Picture they never would have hung up before all that happened last year. Pictures of the newly formed threesome smiling happily through the glass of three dollar frames hung here and there next to the ones of the family that they were once afraid to remember. When first Layla suggested hanging the new ones, Emma objected. She was afraid of changing anything. She was afraid that it would somehow belittle of lessen the importance of the ones that already hung in hallowed positions. Hanging up new ones would mean that she had truly moved on and it was her inner voice that tormented her telling her that that meant she was forgetting them. It took some time, but slowly Jimmy would sneak one up. First it was a small one o Emma and Layla at Six Flags wearing floppy Rasta hats hidden between old family picnic collages. And then the pictures slowly became larger and in plain view. By then Emma had become used to the idea and saw it more as adding to what already existed instead of replacing what had passed on.

Foot falls on the stairs signaled that Jimmy was finally making his way up to the rest of the house.

"It's bloody well time!" Layla turned her back to the weary Jimmy and grabbed her canvas bag from the blue easy chair by the door.

"Pulled an all nighter again Jimbo. What was it this time?" Emma asked looking up from her bowl.

"I was working on the grenade launcher. I think I almost have it." Jimmy removed his glasses and wiped them with his grey shirt. Layla turned and tousled his hair as he replaced his worn out frames. He smiled pleasantly and bent to kiss her.

"Yes, yes, love you too. Can we go now? Please? I promise to be nice later."

"Interesting! How nice exactly are we talking here?" Jimmy smiled and winked as he grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him suggestively.

Emma gagged and took her bowl to the sink. "Oh gross. I don't need to hear this! Can't you wait until I am out of the room?" Emma pushed passed the lustful eyed couple and made for her room. "And please find a way to sound proof your room! Geez Layla, I thought Brits were supposed to be all repressed and proper! I'm going to have nightmares for a week!"

"You're just jealous you're not getting any!" Jimmy retorted.

"Just because I don't make sure the entire town can here me, doesn't mean I'm not getting any!" Emma rolled her eyes as she scrambled for her answer.

"No mate, I think the fact that no one ever sees you with anyone other than your brother and your shadow means that you aren't getting any nookie." Layla smiled and winked and Emma who just rolled her eyes and pushed her door open.

"I thought you had an appointment Layla!" She called from her bedroom.

Layla jumped and patted Jimmy's shoulders. "Oo! Let's go tall, pale, and handsome! You hypnotize me with those brilliant green orbs later!" She grabbed his hand and started to lead him through the living room to the front door.

"Hey! Don't forget that I am coming right back and we have training! After what happened with the Pul'lar demon I think you need to work on your reflexes!" Jimmy yelled out to his sister as he was being dragged away.

"He threw YOU at me! Maybe you should have NOT gotten grabbed… AGAIN!" She answered from the other side of the wall.

As the front door shut, Emma plopped back down onto her bed and shoved her face into her soft pillow. Using her left, she pushed down on her rubber foot and the prosthetic slid off with a very loud and rude sound. "Ah, leg farts!" She mused with her eyes closed. Flopping around, she snuggled her pillow and yawned deeply. "Can't someone else be the super-hero today so I can sleep in?"

London, England

Martin Kessler sat in his very large office and sipped his tea. The dust from all of the ancient books he had been tearing through had dried out his nostrils and he spent every ten minutes pouring saline down his nose. This was not how he imagined being Kor Tant Yul would be like. Being a leader meant delegating tasks and choosing young, blonde and busty women to answer the phones and bring him the tea that he has been making himself. But, the events of the last two years have prohibited Martin from having the cushy position many in the Brotherhood had sought. So for now, he spent his days and nights going through all of the ancient texts and scrolls from Abgal Da passed in this massive, mahogany filled, glass tower.. He would handle menial tasks to make sure they were done precisely. And he would make his own tea answer his own phones because Virginia, his forty-ish, short, rotund secretary, always seemed to hang up on who ever she is trying to transfer and as it were, hadn't the foggiest on how to make a decent cup of English tea.

Suddenly, the office's large oak doors flung open and Virginia came bounding in as usual, bellowing loudly scaring the frighteners out of Martin which made him spill his boiling hot tea onto his lap. Her blue polyester skirt suit worked against her large thighs and she hurried along with urgency.

"Mr. Kessler! Mr. Kessler!"

"Confound it Woman! This isn't a bleeding amusement park! This is an office! People are trying to work here!" He stood and did his best to dry his slacks with his handkerchief as Virginia made her apologies. "Why didn't you use the intercom? You know, the little box that says 'intercom' on it!"

"Oh dear me. I'm sorry sir. Shall I fetch you a towel? Maybe some ice for your… um.."

"Damn it Virginia, never mind my need for ice or not. Why don't you tell me why you came running in here shrieking like you were caught on fire." Martin whipped off his leather chair and sat back down. He put his reading glasses back on and searched the scroll on his desk to find where he had left off.

"Oh quite, sorry… again. Um, there's an Aiden MacAlister on the phone for you. He says it's urgent. Has to do with something about dancing flowers." Virginia wrung her hands together and blew a soft brown curl out of her face. Her cheeks were flushed from her short sprint and she tried to hide the fact that she was severely out of breath.

Martin shook his head. "Just trans… never mind. I'll get it." Martin marched across the office while Virginia jogged along behind him. When they reached her desk there was the phone receiver laying on the desk. She hadn't even figured out how to put the thing on hold! Martin furrowed his brow and put the phone to his ear.

"Aiden, what do you have for me?"

The voice on the other end was young and Irish. He spoke clearly with deep respect for the Head of the Congress. "Mr. Kessler, I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time?"

"No no my boy. I have been awaiting your ring."

"It seems that the dying power is affecting the incarnates in the same domino manner that it was initialized. Across the globe they are weakening."

Martin Kessler lowered his eyes and tried not to chuckle when he realized what Virginia had meant. "Oh Virginia."

"What was that sir?" Aiden asked.

"Hmm, nothing, nothing now again with the dancing flowers, I mean dying power, you're saying that it's like the rings in water. You drop a pebbled and rings go outward, each one reaching a larger circumference than the previous."

"Yes sir, that's exactly it. It has affected all of Europe and should reach Asia and the Americas by next week." Aiden's voice cracked. His nerves were beginning to show through.

"It's gaining speed."

"I'm afraid so sir. What says the Congress of Elders?"

"Well, so far mostly that something must be done, but, they are all torn as to what! None of them can even agree on what's causing it! Some say that it's an unbalance that was caused by the creation of an army of Ba Musal; others think that maybe this is actually an attack. Either way, I may have to force their hands. Time is running out."

"And you sir, what do you think it is?" Aiden asked like a child asking his father if the boogie man truly existed.

"I'm not sure my boy. At times I am certain of both. Who knows, it could very well be a symptom of both theories. At any note, we will need people on all fronts handling damage control. We need to start collecting all of the incarnates and bringing them back here. They deserve to know what is happening to them. I will contact other Abgal Da and direct them to key locations. I want you to head up the United States. Howard Finch is the head of the Indiana Motherhouse. I will let him know that you and a circle of Brothers will be coming tonight. He will make sure you have all that you need. Collect all that you can and bring them back here by the end of next week. I hope by then it won't be too late."

"I will sir. Good luck in your studies. Blessings Brother."

"Blessing to you as well Brother." Martin hung up the phone and ran all ten digits through his curly salt and pepper hair. What was he going to do? He couldn't get the Congress of Elders to even agree on what the cause was. How was he going to find a cure? The pressure in his chest was growing. He felt the sickness in his abdomen and desperately wished he could vomit if only it meant that that was the cure. "That would be great!" He thought to himself. "The vomit of Martin Kessler saves the waning power of the Ba Musal keeping humanity safe from the vile armies of the dead!" He turned and headed back to his office to pour over the texts and scrolls again. As he shuffled with this hands in this trouser pockets, he noticed his reflection in an ornate Victorian mirror. Robust cherubs with page boy hair held up olive branches and flanked the sides of the well maintained antique. Martin studied the bags under his grey eyes and the crow's feet that branched out from their corners. He imagined that the wrinkles in his forehead were so deep that they collected dust and that instead of ruining perfectly good tea and screwing up the phones, he should have Virginia dust out his wrinkles.

"Oh, when did you get so old, old chap?" He mumbled to himself.

"You're only fifty-five years old Mr. Kessler. I would hardly consider that old!" Virginia, all be it not very bright, was very sweet natured and could cheer a rabid dog in a bear trap.

"Thank you Virginia. Why don't you take your lunch? You have been working very hard this morning, I, I mean, YOU could probably use a break." Martin smiled at her and winked. This made her blush and she thanked him heartily.

"I'll be back in an hour Mr. Kessler. If you need anything, I have one of those cellular telephones. Just call." She picked up her pocket book and waved goodbye.

Martin waved as well and thought to himself: "If by the act of God I have the need to call that woman, she wouldn't even know how to turn the thing on!"

For now there was silence and Martin could get back to his translations. He ran his finger down the page looking for the spot were he had been interrupted. He mumbled aloud to himself unconsciously. "Beast…Returning From…Many Have Found…Creation of.." Martin stopped and looked again. He checked his legend to make sure that he had translated the passage correctly. There was no mistake to what was written on that scroll. "Creation of a child!" Martin's mouth fell agape. "I can't believe this was forgotten!" Martin thought for a moment as he made his notes. A strange realization came to him. He almost cursed himself for thinking such sacrilege. "Forgotten, or _hidden_?"


	3. Hot Showers and Butterscotch

**Chapter Three:**

**Hot Showers and Butterscotch**

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Unfortunately for Emma, Jimmy did not forget about the training he scheduled for her. With in thirty minutes of leaving to drop Layla off, he was back at the house jumping on Emma's bed to get her to wake up. She began by throwing a pillow hard enough to knock Jimmy off of the bed and into the wall.

Two hours later the twins were in the basement. They had spent the majority of the time with Jimmy hurling various objects at Emma and her either ducking or deflecting them.

"This is stupid!" Emma complained as she kicked an apple back towards Jimmy. "It was one Pul'lar demon. And he wasn't throwing apples at me! He was throwing you! Now, I would be more than happy to kick you if you want to hurl yourself towards me. Besides, I did my job right? I chopped him up into tiny little Pul'lar pieces. By the way, don't make any corned beef for a while." Emma shuttered at the memory of dismembering the pig-like demon. "And I don't see why you're all of the sudden wanting to be the Burgess Meredith to my Sylvester Stallone. You never pushed my training before?"

Jimmy picked up a hammer and hurled it straight for Emma' face. She stepped to the side and caught it with her right hand just in time. She tossed it in the air, watched it spin and then caught it in her left hand behind her where she used it as a backscratcher.

"This sports bra is killing me. I feel like I can hardly breathe! And it makes my boobs all sweaty!" Emma pulled at the grey sports bra and wiped at the sweat glistening on her chest and bare abdomen. She tossed the hammer back to Jimmy and wiped the palms of her hands onto her grey yoga pants.

"That's why you don't date! You're not very lady like you know!" Jimmy instructed as he caught the hammer effortlessly. Apparently he had been honing the reflex abilities he shared with his twin.

"I'm only like that around you! Like you really care!" Emma tightened her sloppy pony tail and waved for Jimmy to continue.

"Yeah, well, maybe if I saw you actually around other people than I could make that comparison." He picked up several knives and began tossing them at her from all angles. She caught one in each hand at the same time, jumped up for a toe touch to escape two more and then a back flip to miss the last. When she stood back up, she shot the two in her hands back towards her brother who retrieved them from air without endeavor.

"I'm around other people!"

Jimmy turned to put the knives away on the peg board. "When? When you're out at night hunting bad guys, or when you're at the grocery store? Oh wait a minute, you don't do any errands! So that leaves the night times hunts. That's not a social life!" Jimmy pulled a nine millimeter Beretta from a locked drawer and loaded a clip. He showed the gun to Emma who nodded in acknowledgment and prepared herself.

"Just because I don't tell you about it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist!" Emma defended.

"Emma, the only place a social life of yours exists is in your head! Creepy twin sonar remember!" Jimmy raised the gun at his sister and focused his aim. He began to fire just as Layla arrived home and came down the stairs.

"NO JIMMY NO! I KNOW SHE'S NOT VERY BRIGHT BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO KILL HER!" Layla squealed as she came off of the stairs.

Jimmy had emptied the clip as Layla finished her urgent protest. Of course Emma had dodged each bullet with ease and grace. The twins stopped and looked at Layla with complete confusion.

"Oh, this is a part of the reflex training isn't it!" Layla realized.

"And you call me stupid." Emma rolled her eyes and turned to stretch.

"How was your appointment? What was it exactly?" Jimmy asked just realizing he really had no clue why she needed to be at the Grove Café.

Layla played with her fingertips and did her best to hide her discomfort. She walked over and retrieved a knife from the wall as she searched for her explanation.

"Oh, it was fine. Aces really. Just an old mate from back home was in the area and wanted to catch up." Layla continued over to the next wall and pulled the knife from it as well. "It wasn't exactly lying, really," She told herself, "it's partly true."

"Really! Why didn't you say so? I would love to meet one of your friends from England! Why don't you give them a call and invite them over for dinner?" Jimmy suggested as he carefully packed the gun away under lock and key.

Emma took the opportunity to duck away and grab a hacky sack and start bouncing it on her knee.

Layla turned and shuffled towards Jimmy. "Of he was only in town for the day. You know, passing through? He's already on his way to St. Louis to catch his flight out."

Jimmy squinted for a moment trying to comprehend. "Why would ANYONE, especially someone from another country, be 'passing through' Walnut Grove?"

Layla opened her mouth to answer but couldn't find a suitable one to give that wouldn't have given the true meaning for the visit away. She quickly remembered they were talking when she arrived. She shook her head in mock embarrassment and diverted the attention away from herself. "I'm sorry! I have once again been a total cock up and interrupted your conversation! I can tell you all about my luncheon later love; you finish whatever you were talking about first!"

Jimmy was about to insist that Layla continue when he noticed his sister balancing the hacky sack on the top of her left foot.

"Emma, what are you doing?"

"Training. What does it look like?" She answered without looking up.

"That's not training. That's playing. If your training than the skater kids down the block would make way better slayers than you." Jimmy teased.

"Whatever. This takes skill my brother. Concentration, balance and good reflexes." With that she launched the "8 ball" decorated hacky sack into the air. When it came back down, she kicked it with her opposite leg and sent it sailing across the basement and smack into Jimmy's face.

"OW!" Jimmy growled as he held his face. "You see! It's that right there!"

"What are you talking about? I was aiming!" Emma laughed. "Hey, you shot at me and I can't kick a hacky sack at you! That's not very fair Quick Draw!"

"No! It's that crap right there why you don't have a social life! You hide in this house Emma! You haven't accepted or dealt with anything yet! You've just masked it! That's why you hide here, so you don't have to face anyone. So you don't have to face yourself!"

The basement became completely silent. For a moment, a glimmer of hurt shown through on Emma's face as she took all of what Jimmy had thrown at her this time. Jimmy nursed his reddened cheek and continued to look at his sister. He meant what he said; he just wished it wouldn't have come out so aggressively.

"How's that for reflex training?" Layla broke the uncomfortable silence with her usual inappropriate crass humor.

"Shut up Layla." Emma spat.

"Well, he's right! You do hide in here! And you're a woman… kinda. You have needs! Go out there and fill them! What are you afraid of?"

Emma couldn't deny that Layla had actually made sense. She did that from time to time. But she wasn't about to saddle them with her personal issues.

"Look, guys, I'm fine ok. I'm fine with my life right now. I'm happy with me! When I need other people I'll watch TV." After finishing her statement Emma jogged up the stairs and out of sight.

Jimmy sighed and threw the hacky sack down onto the stainless steal counter top. He feared for his sister. She had been living in this self imposed exile since before Layla had arrived really. She just hadn't been so extensive. In the last several months so had cut her self off more and more from the outside world. He was afraid she was going to become some crazy hermit lady that the kids made up legends about and had a thousand cats with matted fur crawling in and out of her windows.

He felt guilty that he had someone to snuggle up to at night and Emma only had tired old bedding that she rarely washed. He wanted his sister to be happy. But, he didn't know how to help her. He knew that he couldn't understand what she was going through. They had discussed that before. The torment she suffered listening to their family die and the constant physical reminder that she wasn't like everyone else. He thought that she had made peace with that last year. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe old wounds were reopening? Or maybe it's something he will never figure. There are no numbers, no calculations or formulae that can heal those hurts. But, if there were, Jimmy would have found it, patented it and made her the queen of day-time self help TV.

Layla walked over to Jimmy and put her arm around him. She could feel his anguish coming off of him in waves.

"You have to realize James that she really is in mourning. She never allowed her self to mourn for, well, herself. I would imagine that losing a piece of your body would in many respects be like losing a loved one. Because in every sense of it, once that happened to her, the old Emma died. She lost herself. She mourned for your family and dealt with it. I think she's just going through the stages of losing herself and trying to find out who it is exactly that she is supposed to be now."  
Jimmy considered her words deeply and patted her hand. What she had said did make a sort of sense. "You're pretty smart you know?"

"Layla Fellows, beautiful and brilliant at your service!" She winked and he kissed her cheek.

"But, I thought she had already dealt with it. She said that she had that whole vision thing with the Sentinel that put things into perspective."

"Have you heard of the five stages of dying?" Layla walked behind him and lead him to sit down on the stool while she rubbed his shoulders.

"Of course I have. We had to go through a years worth of grief counseling after the deaths. Let's see, there's, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then acceptance."

"Yes. Emma lost that person that she was. That woman she was going to be will never be. That is something far more powerful that losing someone else. I don't care how close you were with that person. It's nothing compared to what losing yourself must be like. The point is, when a person close to you dies, no matter how much you accept it, you're still going to miss them. It's still going to hurt not having them around anymore and knowing that they are going to miss all of those great things that are going to happen in your life and vice versa. Imagine what that must be like for someone who, every morning, sees that person they lost in the mirror, hears that person speak, laugh, cry, and feels their heart break everytime when they realize it's not _really_ that person, just a shadow. She must go through those stages everyday, and maybe that's why she hasn't attempted to build a social life. It's hard enough just getting out of bed."

Jimmy fought against the tears that threatened to burst from their ducts. He had never thought of it that way. Emma had a talent for putting up walls to hide her more unsavory of thoughts and feelings. He knew that she was more concerned with keeping him more concerned with his own life and relationship. But, there was nothing she could do to stop him from worrying. She was his sister after all and they were the only family each other had in the entire world as blood goes.

Emma turned the water in the shower on as hot as she could stand. She always seemed to be able to clear her mind best while in the shower. And she felt that a conversation with her self was long over due. Jimmy never spoke to her that way. Not even when they were little kids. Sure they fought like very other sibling on the planet, but it was far from Jimmy's character to tell Emma what to do with her life. He was worried about her and it was showing. Which meant she was acting in a way to cause worry and that was the last thing she wanted.

She stepped into the steaming shower and propped her prosthetic up nearby outside of the shower. The water was invigorating. The steam opened her sinuses and it felt like it would if you were breathing for the very first time. She watched the beads of water drip down her curves and then watched as the steam rose from her skin. She turned and allowed the hot water to massage her shoulders. "_They're right you know_." She thought to herself. "_You have been hiding. But why? You know you're lonely. You know you missed be touched; being kissed. Why won't you let yourself go out and find it?" _Before she could put the shampoo on her hair, she had answered her questions. "_Because I'm scared. I'm scared that I was right. That no one would want someone like me. That is they did I would be worried if they had some kind of amputee fetish or something. The world is full of messed up people and I should know. All I want is to be loved. I just want someone to love me!"_ She realized that she had been crying. She had tried so hard to block out the more feminine of emotions to keep her self on task. But, it had only made them more powerful and now she was afraid that she was becoming scared and desperate. "_I'm empty. I have run myself down to empty! Who wants someone who has nothing left to give? I'm going to be seventy years old translating Stephan King book into Klingonese with my geeky twin brother who gets more action than I do!"_ The last thought had made her chuckle slightly out loud.

"I guess that settles it. Today I crawl out of my hole and re-introduce myself to the world." Satisfied with her talk with herself, she rinsed the soap from her hair and body and reached through the shower curtains for a towel. When her fingers discovered that she had once again forgotten it she cursed herself out loud. With out a towel she couldn't dry her stub off to put her leg back on and with out her leg she couldn't make it over the side of the tub without busting her ass. She pulled the shower curtain back just enough to poke her head out to yell for someone to bring her a towel. When she looked up, she screamed and almost fell backwards. Layla was already standing there holding a towel.

"Holy shit! What the hell are you doing in here! You nearly scared me to death!" Emma stammered gripping the curtain around her body.

"Sorry, then I'll just go then and take this big, fluffy, fresh from the dryer towel with me!" Layla started to turn but Emma stopped her and grabbed the towel from her arms.

"Wait, thank you." She quickly ducked back behind the curtain and dried off her stub so she could put her leg on. "I though we all agreed that you needed to conserve your energy for your creepy powers for when we really need it and also, it's just rude pokin' around in other peoples' brains. But thanks just the same." Emma wrapped the towel around her body and finally stepped out of the shower risk free.

"I wasn't poking around in your brain. I used my amazing powers of probability.

Nine times out of ten you forget to take a towel and instead of using your ability to hop, you stand in there and squeal for one of us to bring you one."

"Well, thanks. Why are you still standing there?" Emma was beginning to feel uncomfortable with standing in the bathroom in nothing but a towel alone with her brother's girlfriend.

Layla rolled her eyes and huffed. "I came to tell you that I was sorry for calling you stupid. But you are though, you know, stupid."

Emma looked around her searching for a way to make sense of Layla's quasi apology. "Um, thank you?"

"Look, I know your going through things here. All that business that happened last year changed us all. And your life was already wonky to begin with so I can imagine that your gourd is a bit knackered." Layla paused to think of how to put her next thoughts. It was evident that she was never very good at putting things gently.

"You know after living with you for a year, you are actually starting to make LESS sense then when I first met you." Emma revealed.

Layla rolled her eyes again sighed exhaustedly. "Bleeding Nora, I'm trying to be helpful here!"

"Fine, sorry, please continue preaching and jabbering on in a complete non-sense vernacular." Emma sighed and waited for Layla.

"Well, looky there, the muscle broke out the big girl words! Anyway, we know that you are dealing with the whole, 'this isn't what my life was supposed to be' thing. And we understand. And, I'm not one to push…"

"Oh no, 'course not. Just wouldn't be you."

"Right, but your brother is worried that you're going to become a crazy cat lady who eats nothing but icing and screams at the paper boy. And frankly that will ruin my sex life." Layla finished her speech by clapping her hands together and waiting for Emma to respond.

Emma cleared her throat and studied the tile on the wall. It was mostly plain, white glossy ceramic tile. But, every few tiles there was one with a peach diamond in it that made the whole wall interesting. _"That's what Layla is. She's a decorative tile that makes it all interesting."_ All in all Layla really did mean well.

"You're right Layla. You couldn't be more right. Thank you so much for putting it into perspective for me. Far be it from me to hinder your sex life. This whole talk has convinced me to start experience the more day time of life. Thank you."

Layla smiled feeling that she had indeed been helpful. She puffed up a bit and winked. "You're welcome. And by the way, I am sorry for calling you stupid. You know… all those times."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, and I'm sorry for calling you a castrating, overly opinionated, harpy… And rude. Sorry."

"You never called me that?" Responded a confused Layla.

"Oh well, then I must have just thought it. Good thing you haven't been pokin' around up there huh!" Emma smiled and then gestured for Layla to leave.

"Ok as soon as you're ready we can leave for that pathetic mall down town."

"Why? What do you need?"

"Nothing. It's what you need. We are going penis shopping!" Layla exclaimed excitedly.

Emma opened her mouth to react but all that came out was a sound not unlike t a cat gagging on a hair ball. "WHAT! Penis shopping? Are you off your meds or something? Where the hell did that come from?"

"You're as bad as those daft buffoons that follow me around all day wanting me to tell their mummies they say hello! What do you think we have been talking about?"

"Getting out of the house more! Meeting new people! You know starting have something that resembles an actually social life!" Emma blurted.

"Yes! Translation: Getting Laid."

"This is insanity! Why do I even bother talking to you! You're a crazy British girl living in my house who says completely crazy British things for crazy British reasons! Does your ego ever have any say in what you do or does your id just take complete control all the time… no breaks. Because I bet that would be exhausting!" Emma held her hands out as it Layla's response would have physical bearing. Suddenly the small, sterile bathroom felt smaller and slightly less sterile.

"Does your ego ever take a break? Come on? When's the last time you even thought bad thoughts about the male persuasion? Having sex will make you feel sooo much better! In what universe does getting laid NOT make a woman feel sexy and validated!"

"Do you know you just set the feminist thing back a couple of centuries?"

"Bloody hell, this has nothing to do with equal pay or any of that. You and I are the embodiments of female power for Christ's sake! This has everything to do with needs and duck, you are way over due! So get dressed. Wear something with cleavage and we will go and find you a penis with a nice face attached you can look at too!" With that Layla finally left the bathroom.

Emma stood for a moment staring at the ceiling shaking her head. Just as she thought to herself that she wasn't going, the door swung back open and Layla popped her head back in.

"And just in case you're thinking of flaking out of this; if you don't go, I'll tell your brother that you called me a terribly racist name and kicked me in the ankle with the wrong foot. And I will cry for hours as I tell him in great detail." And then she quickly shut the door.

"Damn! She's good. Because that's what I would do."

London, England

Martin scrambled through his mahogany office gathering all the pertinent information he could find. The Congress of Elders had agreed to hold a meeting based on Mr. Kessler's findings.

"Unbelievable! How could they lose something like that for centuries? It's utter madness! A child! How could they NOT pass that along!" He piled papers, files, books, scrolls and notes all together. He realized he would need something to transport them in. He could just run into the Congress of Elders like a raving lunatic carrying and armload of unorganized papers and texts! They would never take him seriously! He already had a hard enough time convincing them that he is fully capable to take on the duties of his position. There was plenty unrest in the Congress when he was announced to succeed Nigel Macmillan. Martin was the youngest Kor Tant Yul that the Brotherhood was aware of! This obviously was a constant obstacle for him. Many traditionalists in the Brotherhood firmly believed that the Kor Tant Yul should chosen based on his wealth of experience and knowledge that comes with decades and decades of devotion and study. But since these were modern times, a Kor Tant Yul needed to be business savvy as well. This was why Martin was chosen. He was younger that most of the Congress of Elders and was "more in touch with the modern world". He would be their bridge. And so far, during his "tour" he had lead the Brotherhood to finding a way to bring forth the ultimate force for good and also a way to utterly destroy it.

"It happens to the best of us!" His friend Fredrick has said. "Look at the American President, Bush isn't it! People came and killed thousands of his citizens! At first when he took action they loved him for it! And now, years later as he still wages war to find the right bastards, his own people condemn him for it. It's all about timing old chap. Chances are if anyone else were in your position right now they would be going through the same thing."

Martin looked at the clock. "Bugger, I only have an hour!" He pressed the small red button on the intercom and called for Virginia. "Virginia dear."

The heavy office doors opened and Virginia's small red face appeared. "YES MR. KESSLER?" She called out from across the spacious room. Martin rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell, the woman is as blunt as they come!" He mumbled to himself. He exhaled his frustration with her and yelled back his reason for calling her. "COULD YOU BE A DEAR AND GET ME SOME FILE BOXES?"

"SOME VILE CHOCOLATES?" She answered back perplexed.

"NO NO VIRGINIA! FILE BOXES! YOU KNOW CARDBOARD BOXES THAT ARE USED FOR HOLDING FILES!" He practically spelled it out for her this time.

"Ah yes right oh, be back in a tick sir!" And off she went puttering down the hall in search of boxes.

"Vile Chocolates indeed." Martin mused. "I need to make a note to hire a new secretary after this is over. A lovely young woman who knows her way around the telephones, can take dictation, type well, and can make a cup of tea without it tasting like feet." As he found the scroll he had been translating when he found the astonishing passage, Virginia reentered the office with a stack of brown and white file boxes.

"Here you go sir. Would you like me to organize those papers for you? Make sure everything is all ship shape for the big do?"

"No that's alright Virginia. I think I would like to do it myself. There is a certain way I need them to be packed, and I can't afford another fire."

"Yes that was quite a sight. Who knew that cardboard and butterscotch could react that way? Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

Martin began to fill the first box with various notes and books marked with vibrantly colored post-its. He had roughly forty-five minutes before the meeting and he would probably be able to make it with plenty of time if he didn't have to worry about Virginia causing another butterscotch incident.

"You know what; you have just been a gem today, honestly a true gem! Why don't you just take the rest of the day off and go shopping or something. What ever you do that is fun, for you, just take the day and have a go at it!" He smiled uneasily hoping she would take him up on the offer.

Immediately her plump face lit up like a strip in Las Vegas and she practically jumped onto his lap. "Oh thank you sir! Thank you! There was this new little shop just down the way that sells nothing but the most darling little clothes for cats and I this little tabby named Tabby…"

"Really, that's fascinating," Martin fained interest, "Wonderful, then it's settled you go and take the rest of the day off and bring back plenty of pictures of Tabby dressed as a Geisha or something! Ok? Ta ta then!"

Virginia waved daintily and then hurried off with her short brown curls bouncing behind her.

Martin's nerves were making his head tingle. This was precisely the sort of thing that he was afraid of when he was told that he was chosen. "All this bloody pressure. I'm bound to botch this eventually! Destined for failure!" He realized that his hands were shaking. He was normally so calm and well poised, but this was something huge! He had to convince the Congress of Elders to find something that, until now, was never believed to be even a remote possibility! How was he going to do this? Most of these old fools didn't even want him to be their "liaison to the modern world"! And none of them could even agree what the problem was!

Martin was startled by the sudden ringing of his office phone. He pressed the button next to the flashing red light and picked up the receiver. "This is Martin Kessler."

"Sir, this is Aiden MacAlister again. I have arrived at the Indiana Motherhouse."

"Yes Aiden good to hear. I trust your flight was fair? Our Lear Jets are some of the fastest and luxurious in the world you know. I envy you right now!" He truly did! Martin would give anything to be able to fly away from this mess if only for a moment to get his bearings.

"Yes sir, it was a lovely flight. But, there seems to be a bit of a problem." Aiden's voice trailed off. Martin could tell he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"Oh, and what would that be? Please tell me that it was stale peanuts."

"Well, it seems that Mr. Finch isn't here." Aiden paused, cringing really, awaiting for Mr. Kessler's reaction.

"What! Isn't there? I left notice before I even spoke to you for him to be on alert!"

"It would also seem that Mr. Finch has been gone since yesterday. But, they do expect him back by tomorrow morning."

"This is unacceptable Aiden! We don't have time to wait for our Brothers to return from spontaneous holiday! This is absurd! I will have to reprimand him for this!" Martin's head began to pound. There's no way Aiden would be able to corral all of those incarnates by himself! He was only twenty-six and recently ascended to the role of Abgal Da from initiate just this year. Martin would have to fly out there as soon as the Congress departed! Howard had better have a good explanation for this!

"Sir, I'm afraid there's more." Aiden gulped deeply.

"Go on."

"It appears that about a year ago, Ms. Fellows disappeared from the Motherhouse and they have been unable to locate her."

There was a long silence that was broken by Martin's exclamation. "What! Why is this news to me? Why is this news to anyone outside of The Indiana House? Are we not called a Brotherhood for a reason? Ok. Aiden you stay right where you are. Do your best to locate the Ba Musal around you. As soon as the Congress is done deliberating I will be in Indiana. Even if I have to convince a Highest One to teleport me, I will be there you can count on it! We will get to the bottom of all of this. I have a strange feeling that this is all connected! I will see you tomorrow! Blessings Brother Aiden."

"Blessings with you as well Kor Tant Yul."

As Martin hung up the phone his nerves were getting the better of him. He practically pulled his hair out by the root as he nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Wiping his sweaty palms on his slacks, he made for his black marble kitchenette.

"I need a cup of tea."


	4. Enter the Bar Fight

**Chapter Four:**

**Enter the Bar Fight…**

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Emma and Layla strolled casually through the outdoor mall of their small and sleepy town. They had only been there about twenty minutes and Emma felt ridiculous. If only Layla had said something about shoe shopping instead of "penis shopping" it would have made a world of difference. Now, she was more self conscious than ever! She knew she was lonely and feeling like that in public just gave her the sense that others could virtually smell her desperation for human contact. She fidgeted with her corduroy cranberry blazer and Layla reached over slapping her hand. It took her almost an hour to convince Layla that she wasn't a total social retard, that she knew how to dress like a girl. It was just more comfortable and easier not to! But she promised Layla and herself that she would make an exception and forgo her comfort.

One thing she did allow Layla to do was her hair. She insisted. After listening to Layla refer to her chocolate brown locks as a "skanky squirrels nest" several times, she permitted her the pleasure. And Emma had to admit that it looked fantastic! Large thick curls framed her face and fell down her shoulders. Her bangs were cut and swept just above her right eye showing the small beauty mark mole in the corner of her left.

She hated to confess, but she actually enjoyed putting on make-up! For the first time in she couldn't remember, she lined her top eye lids with liquid black liner and used eye shadow. And when she was finished, she liked the way she looked! She smiled when she looked in the mirror and allowed herself to compliment the image that stared back at her. "Not bad at all Ms. Hogan."

Her tan suede boots clacked on the freshly paved side walk as they passed the various shops and boutiques. Layla took it upon herself to point out the few men here and there that she felt would interest Emma. But, of course, Layla's idea of "Emma's type" was a little off. Most of the ones she pointed out were scrawny biker rejects, or looked like they would be excellent candidates for _Trekkies Three_. After another attempt by Layla to get Emma to throw herself at the first man she saw, Emma threw her arms up in annoyance.

"This is re-freakin'-tarded! I am NOT doing this anymore! I would rather be back at home in the basement letting Jimmy empty another clip at me!" Emma's outburst had drawn a few nervous looks from passers by and Layla pulled her aside.

"You don't want me help? Then fine!"

"No! I don't want your help! I don't need your help! I can do this on my own! You know, I'm twenty-five years old! I have been with lots of guy…." Emma stopped herself before the statement went any father than it already had.

"I don't find that hard to believe. Your whole wardrobe looks like hand-me-downs from a two dollar redneck streetwalker." Layla turned and smiled sweetly at a couple that walked passed the arguing pair. The couple smiled back and continued to hold each others hands warmly. Emma's heart panged when they gazed back at each other lovingly. "I felt that."

"Stop the creepy stuff! I'm not ashamed to admit that I wish I had THAT feeling! That thing, how ever twisted it maybe, you have with my brother! I wish I had that! But, my 'job' isn't very flexible and doesn't have much in the way of benefits! It's makes things more complicated than they would already be with me being a flippin' cripple and all!" Emma folded her arms across her chest and stood firm.

"Ooo you said it! Does that mean we can get the placard now?" Layla jumped and clapped her hands like someone had told her she was getting a pony for her birthday. "You know that would be a really good selling point! Men LOVE good parking spaces!"

Emma rolled her eyes and turned to continue to walk on. "You are hopeless. You know what, I'm going shoe shopping. This whole idea is stupid. I should've just followed my own instinct and gotten drunk at a bar."

"Don't tell anyone but you're probably right. We should make a night of it, the three of us. That way you won't look so pathetic." Layla patted Emma's back and headed for the shoe outlet.

"Well, I figure a lot of vamps hang out in bars looking for prey. So, either way I should be getting some action." Emma shrugged.

They walked on with the sun sparkling down in the cloudless sky. Missouri always had such beautiful springs. The weather was always perfect; never too cool. Birds were singing, and happy people gathered all over the parking lot taking advantage of the weekend's sidewalk sales that peppered the pavement. The sun would be setting soon and the nocturnal would soon be commencing their hunt as well.

After the two women settled on their purchases of inexpensive off the rack footwear, Emma called Jimmy to have him meet them at Pepper's. It was the only place in town that didn't require you to have a belt buckle the size of your head to get in. Jimmy was at the book store and that was only a block away from the bar. Since the girls had the truck, it was suitable for him to walk to.

"I thought you were going to explore the whole 'daytime' thing?" Jimmy asked.

"I tried, but, I feel like an idiot. And Layla is annoying. I think in this case it's ok to mix business with inevitable disappointment and humiliation." With that the conversation ended and Emma and Layla made for Pepper's.

Ontario, Canada

She had been tracking this one for weeks. He was a particularly brutal beast. She was chasing him now; through alleys and down populated city streets. She didn't care anymore. There had been at least twenty deaths she could attribute to him in the previous months and she wasn't going to let him rack up his victims. Her long red hair flew behind her like a waving flag of war; she wasn't going to lose him this time. As the moon climbed higher in the night sky it reflected brightly off of her milky white skin and gave her more light to illuminate her target. "You're mine!" She muttered under her breath. Flashes of the all the time she spent away from Jean-Philippe, flipped in and out of her brain. All of that time she spent, calculating, stalking, researching, interrogating, and snooping; it had all finally paid off and she had the vicious vamp in her sights.

Poor Jean. How he couldn't understand. She tried explaining to him what she was and how it was her duty to protect those people that had been slain. How everytime another victim was found, she herself died a little. She had to catch this monster! Her psyche demanded it! If she didn't get this one tonight, she may never be able to stop any others that come into her town ever again! Jean tried so hard to get her to stay home tonight. He was worried about his fiancé. She hadn't been well lately and he feared that she wouldn't be up to a hunt tonight. Genevieve admitted that she had been feeling a little dizzy and light headed, but it came and went. For now she felt fine. Better than fine! She was about to bag the son of a bitch that had been consuming her every thought for at least two months! "_Sorry Jean, but, I'm glad I didn't listen to you_!"

She was practically at his heels now! The adrenaline pumping through her veins made her ears tingle! She could wait until he was burning out like a grease fire! With a graceful push with her slender legs, she leapt into the air towards the object of her aggressions. But, just as she began to soar, she felt the queasy dizziness again. She landed just to the left of the surprised vampire. Instead of continuing to run, he stopped and watched the dazed vampire slayer rise to her feet. Holding her head, she stood up straight and held out an arm to stabilize her wobbly self. She forced her eyes to focus and tried vigorously to shake the dizziness from her head. Afraid that this sudden bout inner ear trouble would rob her of her victory, she tightened her fists and took a deep breath.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" The vamp teased gnashing his jagged teeth. "There's no way your coming out of this alive! You know that right?" He laughed.

"I'm a slayer dick wad. And you're about to be ashes." She pulled back her arm and swung at him with all that she possessed. But something was wrong and she could feel it. He caught her fist easily and began to crush every bone in her hand as he squeezed."

"Someone lied to you sweetheart!" He sang.

Genevieve was brought to her knees by the searing pain of the crushing bones. Her blood began to spill from her hand like a water balloon that had been popped. She began to whimper and cry when the realization came that she hadn't the power to stop him! She was nothing more than an ordinary girl in the hands of a hungry monster!

"_Oh God! Jean-Philippe! You were right! I should have stayed home! You were right! Something has gone terribly wrong! I hope you know I love you!" _She prayed to herself. Her confusion was almost as great as the physical pain she was in. Her heart pumped away in her chest like a locomotive and she knew that these were her last moments.

The wretched beast knelt down next to her and whispered in her ear. "You know, I love red heads! They're always so much sweeter!" He caressed her silken ginger hair and then gripped it tight in his claw-like hand. He then pulled hard yanking her head back and licked her tender white neck. "Ahh." He moaned. "I promise you, this is going to take a while!"

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Emma, Jimmy and Layla sat drearily at a wobbly round table that seemed to be covered in a sticky film. Their half empty pitcher of beer sat neglected in front of them. The people of Walnut Grove swarmed around the trio like leaves in a hurricane. Aimlessly they flitted about, stammering here and there and landing only when it seemed the pull of gravity became too much. A man with a glorified cd player played song after song as the drunken crowd gyrated and twitched along with him. Emma swirled the contents of her clear plastic cup and watched the happenings with disinterest. As she swallowed the last warm gulp of watered down draft the music changed to a slower pace.

"Dance with me James!" Layla grabbed Jimmy's hand and dragged him away before he could interject with a very manly "I don't dance!" Emma was left alone at the wobbly table.

She looked up and saw the once world of chaos calm into a sea of slow dancing couples. Although the thought of stepping from her left to her right over and over again with a drunken stranger who constantly whispers into her ear that she "smells pretty" made her nauseous, she couldn't help but feel that heavy little pain in her chest called jealousy.

_"Am I really that disenchanted?"_ She thought to herself. So looked at the unappealing swill that sat stagnantly in the plastic pitcher and came to her conclusion. "Nope, I'm just not drunk yet." She picked up the pitcher and after a pause set it directly back down. "And this crap isn't going to do the trick."

Being careful not to touch the unstable and sticky table, she rose from her seat and walked over to the bar. Throngs of people pushing on all sides made her liquor run a challenge. After yelling excuse me several times and still never rising above to din to catch the eye of the bartender, Emma pounded her fist on the counter and yelled, "HEY!" Finally she was heard.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender yelled loudly to be head over the blaring rock ballad and the multitude of drunks who bombarded his counter.

"Four shots of tequila and a lime please."

"Got it four shots and four limes." The bartender repeated.

"No. Just one lime." Emma corrected. The bartender gave a cautious nod and disappeared down the bar. Emma waited for the man to return with the four stubby glasses filled with the pungent yellow liquid and her one lime wedge. She slapped a bill on the bar and taking a shaker of salt, walked back to her table.

She licked and salted her hand and then lined the glasses up in a row in front of her. As she picked up the first glass she toasted the swaying crowd. "To the loser table! May there always be room for one more!" With that, she licked the salt from the back of her hand and then one by one quickly downed each glass. Before she allowed the burn in the back of her throat turn into the hot, acid queasiness in her belly, she bit hard into the lime squeezing the tart juice all over her taste buds. After puckering intensely, she stacked the glasses together and set them on the tray of the first waitress that crossed by. Before the girl took two steps, Emma grabbed her arm and instructed her to bring four more with another wedge of lime.

Emma's head began to tingle slightly as the ballad came to a close. Jimmy and Layla returned to the table to find Emma thumping her forehead with her index finger.

"What are you doing?" Layla asked perplexed.

"I'm checking my drunkenness. Hmm, I felt the third thump so I guess that means I am three shots away from being shitty."

The waitress returned with Emma's order and after paying the girl, Emma repeated her ritual. Layla and Jimmy just sat and watched.

"How in the name of Goddess can you drink that?" Layla asked. Jimmy smiled and puffed out a bit.

"We're Irish. Some peoples are known for their business savvy, others for their discipline towards work and education. We can drink a fifth of anything and still walk out on our own two feet."

"Impressive." Layla smirked.

"Yeah, well, what's your peoples' talent? Creating a wide variety of foods that can inflame your bowels in many delightfully uncomfortable ways?" Jimmy retorted.

"Sex. Actually." Layla stated matter of factly. "I believe we wrote the book on it."

Jimmy gulped and then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but the whole drinking thing, that would be us! It's a gift!"

"Yeah, one he doesn't have!" Emma laughed heartily as she ordered another round.

"Make that eight!" Jimmy demanded feeling embarrassed by Emma's remark.

"How many times have I had to drag you into the shower so I could clean you off while you puked?" Emma held her sides and her eyes began to water.

"Oh yes! James Hogan, true Irishman!" Layla joined in.

The tequila had begun to affect Emma. The alcohol had warmed her blood and she began to sweat. "Geez, it's fucking hot in here!" She proclaimed as she stood and removed her blazer. She dropped it down over her arms to reveal the thin, black satin camisole she wore underneath. Her long hair fell down and touched the bare olive skin of her upper back and shoulders. "I'll be right back kiddies. I gotta piss like a horse!" Ignoring the rolling eyes of her companions she turned on her heels and headed for the restrooms. Suddenly, and she began to take a step, she felt herself swoon and then sort of dizziness filled her head. "Damn, that was quick! I guess my forehead was off!" She reached out for the bar and steadied herself. "Holy crap! Since when did I become such alight weight!" As she finished her sentence, she felt some take hold of her arm. Looking up, she saw a man she had never seen before. He was tall and some what handsome. He held a beer in one hand and Emma's arm in the other. His black hair was tousled and his brown eyes were glazed. "_This Dude's drunker than I am!"_ She thought to herself.

"Hey there sweet thing, you look like you should be sittin' down! I've got seat for ya right over here! Come here and have seat on daddy's lap!"

Emma yanked her arm away from the slobbering, sweaty baboon. "Oh get over yourself! Does that ever work?" She pushed passed him and again started for the bathroom.

He grabbed her arm again and spun her around to face him. "Fuck you bitch! I can get pussy from any bitch in this room!" He grinned creepily and continued to grip her arm.

Emma pulled back on the fingers that accosted her and forced her knee into his groin dropping him to the ground. "Now who's the bitch?" She taunted as she stood over him and then spat in his face. "Pussy." She said as she stepped over him. She had made it another inch when the "bitch's" friends confronted her.

"What the fuck did you do to my boy?" The blonde one grumbled as he and his friend helped their injured friend up from the dirty concrete floor. Emma stopped and sighed heavily.

"I might as well piss my pants. I'm not going to make it to the potty!" She muttered under her breath. Reluctantly she turned to face the two.

"I did him a favor. And not to mention a favor to every other woman in this building." She waved him off and began to make her way once more for the ladies room.

"Hey I know her! She's that one chick that Brian fucked! Yeah! Ol' peg-leg! That's it! HA! Peggy the Pirate! That's what he called her!" The drunken three began to laugh and slap hands in celebration of the second dark headed one's burn at Emma's expense.

Across the crowed bar, Jimmy had been nuzzling Layla's brown silken neck when suddenly her felt this wave of anxiety and pressure in his chest. His ears boiled and his skin went cold with clammy sweat. He could feel his heart begin to race and his breathing become erratic. A voice in his head slowly grew from a faint echo to a very clear. _"That motherfucker!" _Jimmy also knew that these sensations were not his. They were Emma's. And from what all he was getting, she wasn't happy and someone was about to pay dearly for it.

Jimmy abruptly pulled away from his eastern princess and stood form his seat.

"What's going on?" She asked concerned.

Jimmy stood still and focused as he scanned the crowd conscientiously. His heart began to beat faster and he could feel Emma's anger rising to the point of explosion.

"Jimmy!" She insisted.

"Listen for Emma." He instructed.

"James, I can barely make you out over this crowd. How…"

"No. LISTEN."

Layla understood this time and reached out with her mind. Like a jolt the situation unraveled in her brain and she stood as well pointed across the room toward the end of the bar. "Those poor bastards are about to have their arses handed to them!"

Emma slowly turned to face them. A hollowness took over her eyes as she stared the fool down. With every second that passed she could feel her rage take over. Rage she hadn't felt in over a year. The darkness in her heart began to threaten her reasoning and it tempted her beyond all logic. "That, was a really stupid move." She groaned flatly.

The group mocked her with sarcastic fear and the mouthy one spoke again. "What are ya gonna do gimpy? Throw your leg at me!" The three erupted into laughter and Emma grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Well, something like that." She answered as she gave into the rage screaming in her blood.

Just as she was about to stomp her foot and trigger one of Jimmy's custom accessories, her brother and Layla shoved their way through the crowd and appeared to her right.

"No!" They cried out in unison.

"They're not worth it!" Layla insisted.

"Stay out of it Layla." Emma said with out turning to look at her.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be out driving a taxi or something?" The blonde one so rudely jested.

Layla squared her eyes at him about to respond when she stopped herself and turned back at Emma. "On second thought, knock the bloody wankers' blocks off!"

Emma finally turned to face Jimmy and Layla. "Do you see now why I stay at home?" Uncannily, the dj began to play appropriate music and Emma grinned. "Perfect. Theme music!"

The three drunken guys began to chuckle and point at the tiny woman who was about to rip them apart. "Dude, look out, she might bruise out ankles!" Mocked the blonde one

Emma sarcastically laughed with them and then sharply punched him just above the clavicle. He instantly stopped laughing and went to grabbing his throat and coughing. The jerk she had dropped before lunged forward to grab her. She quickly grabbed the arm that he extended towards her, twisted it up behind his back and then kicked him into a group of tables. The third came after her next with a loud "Hey bitch!" She made short order of him by stepping to the aside as he came running at her head down like a bull, then she grabbed his belt loop and pulled back. This made his feet slide out from under him, and as unfortunately for him gravity works and he fell nose first onto the beer soaked concrete.

Emma began to laugh at him when the dizziness came back. She grabbed her head and tried to right herself by stumbling back to hold onto the bar again. Jimmy came to her aide and held her arm to lead her to a stool. This worried him greatly. He had never seen her act this way. With her incarnate constitution, she rarely was drunk to the point of passing out on her feet, especially when she's in fight mode. Suddenly, wave of light-headedness came over Jimmy as well. He blinked his eyes harshly to combat it, but it was like someone was sucking the oxygen out of his head.

"You fuckin' cow!" The first one yelled as he rose to his feet and ran for the weakened Emma. Before Jimmy could blink, he was shoved out of the way and the bastard had Emma by the throat lifting her up until her toes no longer grazed the floor.

Jimmy and Layla stood back in amazement as Emma struggled to get free! This guy was nothing compared to her! He wasn't a vampire from what they could tell. Just some drunken asshole starting trouble in a bar. And Emma, a super-hero reincarnation of an ancient vampire slaying Goddess, was powerless in his grasp?

Layla ran over to help Jimmy from the floor. As soon as she made it over to him the weakened state he and his twin seemed to be in passed and Jimmy rose quickly and smiled at Emma.

Emma had been holding onto the brute's wrist while he was choking her. As soon as the weakness passed, she was able to crush the bones without effort. The man cried out in agony and dropped her straight away.

"What was that about ankles dick-wad?" She asked close to his face as be bent over nursing his injury. Emma raised her right leg and stomped down hard on the top of foot near his ankle. As he yelled out and ducked down to then hold his foot, Emma pulled back her right arm and then sent him flying several feet back with a vicious upper cut to the chin.

As the refreshed super-hero dusted her hands in relief and turned around, she was met by a fist to the face. Emma stood still for a moment and shook off the annoyance.

"That was my boyfriend bitch!" A shrill voice harped at her. Emma blinked her eyes and saw a smallish young woman with long blonde hair standing furiously in front of her.

"Oh sweetie, you don't want to do this! You really don't! Trust me; if that creep was your boyfriend, he certainly wasn't aware of it!" Emma chuckled.

The young woman reached up and grabbed a handful of Emma's hair and yanked down hard.

"OW! Dammit woman! This isn't cool ok! I actually took time to do this!" Emma grabbed the girl's arms and held them down in a painful grip.

"Ow wow wow wow wow OW!" the girl squealed.

"Now, go home and reevaluate your life." Emma instructed her and then let go with a little shove. This knocked the girl in the pink halter and short denim skirt into another table which in turn dumped over the drinks there onto the laps of the people sitting. A large man with a scruffy beard rose and attempted to brush the stale liquid from his lap and stomach. When he looked up the first person he saw was Jimmy smiling.

"You think that's cute Twinkie? Shoving young girls around and spilling people beer?" He assaulted in a gravely voice.

Jimmy quickly stopped smiling and shook his head vigorously. "NO, no sir! It wasn't me she just…" He stammered.

"Hey you bleeping oaf!" Layla stepped in front of her lover and began to defend him; much to Jimmy's dismay. "He didn't do anything to you! So, why don't you just go back to killing off your last half a brain cell and growing more hair on your back!"

The bearded man stepped closer to the two and looked down at them. Jimmy could almost see the steam puffing out of nostrils. "So that's how it is? You gonna let your woman fight your battles for you?"

Layla slide over to the right to put Jimmy back in plain view of the oaf.

"Nope." Jimmy answered. "She was just buying me time so I could do this!" He had put on a black glove and then punched the oaf in the sternum. The man just stood there and raised an eyebrow at a perplexed Jimmy. "I don't understand, it was working perfectly the other day? Could the enchantment have worn off?"

Suddenly, the man swung at Jimmy. As he ducked in time, the man hit the young guy standing behind Jimmy. When Jimmy stood up, the young guy pushed Jimmy forward so he could confront the oaf that punched him. As Jimmy stumbled, he bumped into another group of people who were equally bothered with having their drinks spilled all over them. They all had started to reach for Jimmy when Emma pulled him out the way.

"Did you try turning it on?" Emma asked as Jimmy continued to fidget with his glove.

"Gee no! The super genius didn't think about that! I think the batteries are dead."

"Well, if you didn't have so much fun punching the oak tree in the backyard they might still be full!" Emma lectured.

What began to unravel was nothing short of a trail of dominos falling down one onto the other. Soon the entire bar was in one huge brawl!

"Uh oh." Emma muttered guiltily.

Layla ducked under a couple of guys who had each other by the throats and ran up next to the twins.

"We hurry and get out of here before this place gets rough." She disclosed nodding her head.

The twins turned and looked at her surprised that she had not already believed an entire bar in one big fight to be "rough".

"How is this not rough? Look!" Emma gestured to the brawling mob.

A chair came flying towards her and Layla ducked just as it flew over head. "You two have never been to Manchester during football season!"

As the trio made their way to the front door, they found them selves dodging glasses, chairs and people. One man ran smack into Layla and when he grabbed her by both arms she looked deep into his eyes.

"You are a rubber ducky with a broken squeaker!" She told him. The man tilted his head slightly and then dropped to the floor sitting on his knees with his arms folded up at his sides. Layla reached down and pushed on his stomach; he opened his mouth and a slow hissing sound came out.

"Good ducky! Now, stay there until bath time!"

Jimmy had appeared and dragged her by the arm to the front door.

After several minutes, the three fell through the front doors and stood dazed looking into the street.

"Well, that was great! We should totally do that every weekend!" An exhausted Emma proclaimed sarcastically.

The sound of sirens broke through the din of the bar room brawl that carried on behind them. They all looked down the street and saw flashing lights fast approaching up the street.

"Yeah just fantastic time, but I think it's time to go!" Jimmy said as they all broke into a run towards the old blue truck. One after the other they jumped into the cab and before Emma could shut the door, Jimmy and peeled away from the curb.

As they drove off headed for home Layla turned to Emma. "I am never taking you penis shopping again!"


	5. Aiden MacAlister

**Chapter Five**

**Aiden MacAlister**

Richland, Indiana

Aiden MacAlister sat in the office of Howard Finch digging through papers. For two days he had been stuck here rummaging for some sort of clue as to where the head of the Indiana Motherhouse had disappeared to. He was told yesterday by some of the members that Mr. Finch would be back today. His instincts told him that they were lying. And so far they were right. There was not a sign of him anywhere.

"There must be something!" He complained out loud. His instructions were to remain in the States until the Kor Tant Yul arrived. And from what Mr. Kessler's secretary, Ms. Welch had informed him, the Congress of Elders was still in deliberation. This meant he wouldn't be arriving anytime soon and Aiden was left in charge of rounding up all the incarnates himself. He had located several in the last day and sent out recovery teams to pick them up. Unfortunately for some, they were too late. The weakness had already begun to affect North America and some incarnates had already been killed while hunting. He wrote in his report that he took full responsibility.

"What have we done?" He whispered to himself when he first read what was happening. "We have destroyed the only chance humanity had against Hell itself."

For now he focused all of his frustrations on finding Mr. Finch and Ms. Fellows. No one here seems to know what happened to her! They consensus is, she was here one day and then gone the next! In house full of psychics they were all pretty out of the loop. But being that Layla Fellows was widely perceived as one of the most extraordinary mediums the Brotherhood had produced, it was no wonder she has been able to hide her presence from their psychic surveillance. Aiden was also a bit extraordinary himself! Compared to the other members of the Brotherhood, he wasn't anything all that special. But, to the rest of the world he was definitely more than average Joe. His ability to move things around him was too much even for his own family. His abilities became apparent as a toddler when his temper tantrums would cause objects around him to fly around the room sometimes crashing into the walls or even his parents! Being good devout Irish Catholics, they were convinced that he was possessed by a demon and took him to a priest to have him exorcised. After several attempts, the Priest decided that Aiden's parents weren't praying enough and that is why the exorcisms failed. And so for the next decade they prayed non stop, but, Aiden's gifts only became stronger.

Raised until the age of ten in the county of Sligo in Ireland, his parents weary of praying for their "demonic son" then left him in the care of an orphanage in the next county of Mayo. It was there that an Abgal Da had found him and brought him into the Brotherhood moving him to the Motherhouse in Dublin. There his telekinesis was cultivated and nurtured. He learned how to focus what he was feeling into a most useful and handy tool.

Aiden had been in this cluttered office for what seemed like weeks and had accumulated an even greater mess than what was in there initially! He had been through this large oak desk a thousand times and all he found were the usual check stubs, authorization forms and ritual ledgers. He rubbed the top of his head tousling his short, sandy disheveled hair and sighed. "This is just fecking grand! I am getting no where!" Dropping his arms back down onto the desk he banged his head several times on top of them. Apparently, when he had done this, a post-it note that had been stuck between a drawer and the framing came loose and fell to the ground. Aiden jerked as he caught the flash of yellow, out of the corner of his eye, flitting to the maroon carpeting below. "Hello." He said as he plucked it from the floor.

FLIGHT 283 DEP. 8:15 AM

LAMBERT AIRPORT

"So, Mr. Finch let's see where Lambert airport is at!" Aiden squeezed the note in his fist and spun around to his laptop. Typing furiously, he had his answer within seconds. Most Abgal Das didn't own computers. At least most of the older ones still clinging to tradition. They felt it made it too easy for outsiders to discover their secrets, so most of the history was still kept in ledgers, journals and other books that had been enchanted for convenience and it was a great storage solution.

"St. Louis? What's in Missouri Mr. Finch?" He scooted the office chair back to stand and when he did it hit one of the legs of the desk. Instead of a high pitched tap though, it made a deep, hollow knock. Aiden stopped and looked curiously at the leg of the desk. He knocked on it with his knuckles and again there was the hollow sound. To test his theory he reached over and knocked on another leg. This one was obviously solid as it returned the expected high pitched tap. "And what do we have here!" He sat down behind the hollow leg and gripped it tightly in his hands. With a careful pull, a section of the leg came off to reveal a small secret compartment. Waiting inside, was a small silver key. Checking for the Brotherhood crest, Aiden found none, thus deciding that this was not his family key.

Aiden stood and studied the key. It was small and unremarkable. No different from a key one would use to open a post office box. He looked around the room. There were a few book cases and several paintings hanging on the walls.

"Could he be that cliché?" Aiden asked himself aloud. With a wave of his hand, he moved three paintings from one wall onto a green, antique corduroy sofa. There was nothing but wall left behind those paintings so he turned and face the opposing wall. Waving his hand again, another three paintings were slide from their perches and landed safely leaning against the front wall. To Aiden's delight, one of the paintings had indeed concealed the presence of a wall safe. "HA! Lucky me the ole' codger is that cliché!" He inserted the key into the lock. Grabbing the handle at the same time he turned it slowly. He could hear the rumbles and clicks of the tumblers falling into place and then a loud clack as the lock released its steely grip on the door. As it swung open, all that was inside was an 8x11 leather bound notebook. Aiden retrieved it and opened it to the first page.

"Journal of Howard Finch." He read out loud. "Let's hope he's been keeping up with this!" As he walked to the leather wing backed chair in the corner he thumbed through its pages until he came to the last few. "Well, apparently Ms. Fellows is in Missouri! HA! Howard knew the whole time where she was! That's why no one else in the Brotherhood knew! He made sure that it was kept secret!" He flipped back a few mare entries and scanned the passages. "I'll be damned…" He slapped the book closed in elated surprise and ran to the desk phone.

"Yes, Rebecca, I need you to ring the London House for me. Tell Ms. Welch to inform Mr. Kessler that I will be traveling to Missouri straight away. Yes. I will have my mobile with me. Yes. I have found Mr. Finch, Ms. Fellows and apparently located another incarnate that the Abgal Da were not aware of! And he is NOT going to believe WHO they are! After you make that call; ring Mary Agnes over at the Dublin house. Make sure she calls me directly! This is news she is absolutely going to want to hear! Thanks!" Aiden placed the phone receiver back on its base. He could barely contain his excitement! The nerves in his body were practically electrified as he quickly packed up his computer and slung on his brown leather jacket. As he fussed with the jacket's buttons while rushing out of the building her thought to himself, _"I wonder if they even know!"_

Lambert Airport, St. Louis, Missouri

It was a short flight. Only twenty minutes in the air really. Not even enough to catch a nap. The plane was little more than a glorified sardine can with wings. Aiden hated those planes! The larger ones he could handle no problem. But in the small Cessnas you could hear every single bump and there was just something about seeing the propellers that made Aiden's heart seize.

Mary Agnes had called him while he was on his way to the small airfield in Richland. She was lucky to have caught him; he had found a flight that was leaving with in a half an hour!

"Are you sure boy? I'm on my way!" Was all that she had said. After that she had hung the phone up. He assumed that once she was able to, that she would call him for directions.

He stood at baggage claim looking for his driver. The people encircling the luggage conveyer looked lost and helpless as they searched for their precious belongings. Out of nowhere a man in a black suit appeared holding a sign with Aiden's last name on it.

"Hello, I'm Mr. MacAlister." He addressed the driver. "How long will it take us to get to Walnut Grove?"

"Walnut Grove?" The tall black man seemed confused as to why a man who was definitely from out of town want to go to a little place like Walnut Grove? "Well, that would take about an hour and half sir. Why would you want to go to a little town like that? You got some family or something down there?"

"Something like that. Long lost you could say. Are we good to leave now?" Aiden adjusted the laptop case and small duffle he had on his shoulders.

"Do you have any other bags sir?" The man asked as he gestured for Aiden to hand one to him.

"No. This is all. I don't expect to be staying long."

"Alight, then I guess we are good to leave then! This way sir!" The man gestured for Aiden to follow him passed the rent-a-car desks to the parking lot outside were a black limousine was parked and waiting. He opened the door for him and Aiden slid in giving his thanks. Once the bags were tucked away in the trunk, the driver took his position behind the wheel and they drove away from Lambert's arches and onto the highway.


	6. Occupational Hazards

**Chapter Six**

**Occupational Hazards**

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Jimmy stood over the stove scraping eggs in a frying pan with a spatula. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the pungent aroma of the freshly fried bacon piled on the plate next to him. Satisfied that the eggs were properly scrambled, he moved the pan to an empty plate and poured the eggs onto it.

"Morning." A sleepy eyed Emma walked drearily into the kitchen and plopped down at the table where the newspaper was. "Hey look we made the front page!" She held up the paper to show a large picture of the bar-wide brawl that had been caused by Emma's initial defense.

Jimmy handed her a plate of bacon and eggs and a cup of coffee. He then brought the same for himself and sat next to her. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Emma asked with a mouthful of egg.

"For pushing you like I did. I'm just worried. I know you must be lonely and I…" Jimmy lowered his head and sipped his coffee.

Emma smiled and patted his hand. It touched her that her brother cared for her well being so. "You feel guilty that you're happy. Don't be! You should be happy that you're happy! I am! I think it's great! Sure it annoys and grosses me out to watch you two practically make out in front of me everyday, but that doesn't mean I want you to break it off just to prove misery loves company!"

He smiled as he slowly swallowed. He knew all of those things. We all do when we worry about those we love. But it doesn't stop us from continuing to indulge in the less rational of emotions time and again. He thought carefully before he answered. He wanted what ever he was going to say to have gravity. He wanted to tell her that he knew inside that things were changing, and how odd that it was that they never really thought of this. It's funny how you know things but never really allow yourself to think about them. They knew that one day they would grow up, fall in love, and maybe get married have lots of babies, but they never really thought about it. How it would affect them and all. That what it meant was they wouldn't be living together forever; that they would be living in separate houses sharing their lives with other people. It was a scary thought for a set of twins who had no one else in the world! For the last few years it had only been the two of them. And with one of them finding solace and love in another person, that meant that they were moving on. Jimmy was afraid that it meant that he didn't Emma anymore! And he did! He didn't want her to think that! And secretly in his heart, he knew that he would have felt the same way and maybe that's why he never said anything about her isolation. It made him feel important and needed that he was the only person on this planet that she ever really spoke to. But the guilt in his heart forced him to speak up and try to force her into the world of people. He had thought that if she found someone and fallen in love and wanted a separate life, then maybe then the blame would be shifted and he wouldn't feel so guilty. As he thought back on last night gulping his coffee he realized that might have been a mistake.

"Emma…" He began to speak. But Emma gripped his hand and when he looked up he could see that she was weeping.

"It's ok Jimbo. I heard it all. I know. It's something we avoided because we were scared of moving on that it made it all seem less important that it made mom, dad and Shea seem less important somehow. That's why we didn't really talk about them all that much before. But, it's ok! We're grown-ups now. Whether we like it or not we are! But that doesn't mean that we need each other any less than before. Just differently. That's all. It's just different now. Besides, it's not like you are moving out tomorrow!"

Jimmy looked up from the swirling rich brown liquid in his chipped "I 'heart' Lobsters" mug and winked at his twin. "I guess we have to hug now." He said sarcastically. And without a thought, they did. Jimmy opened his eyes and looked down on the back of the old t-shirt Emma was wearing.

"I don't care how mushy we are right now, if that t-shirt doesn't find its way back into my drawer today; I'm going to hide all of your legs while you're sleeping again!"

Layla entered the room just as the twins were sharing their moment. "Wonderful, now can we all move on with out lives? Ooo! Coffee!" Layla rushed over and filled her cup. As she leaned against the counter to take a sip she spied the paper and rushed over. "Oh smashing! Are we mentioned? Did they get a picture of me? I was looking bloody brilliant last night!"

While the twins were busy rolling their eyes as Layla tore through the paper. Suddenly, loud crashes of breaking glass and kicked in doors erupted all through the house. As the three jumped from their seats, the cause presented itself by busting through the kitchen door and windows. Several men and dressed like ninjas with long black tunics and dark blue sashes across their left shoulder and chest came bursting into the house and surrounded them.

Emma froze prepared to defend them looking utterly baffled at the intruders. "I don't know if you guys got the memo, but, I kill vampires. If you're looking for the cheesy, B movie reject, ninja slayer, that's the next street over. Ask for Tom."

One stepped forward and spoke through the black cloth covering his mouth and nose. "Shut your mouth whore. You are unworthy of the soul you posses. You have tainted it and we are here to release it from your filthy shell!" The intruder swung forward to attack Emma, but she kicked upward with her right foot and broke his arm. He stumbled backwards as the others closed in to attack the three as well. Emma did her best to fight back the ninja-like intruders, but she was greatly out numbered. Jimmy knew if he was to help, what he needed was all in the basement. But, the path to the door was blocked!

"Emma!" He cried out. "Exit!"

Emma nodded knowing what he wanted. With all of the strength she possessed in her being, she rose her right foot and smashed it down hard onto the kitchen floor by Jimmy. The force of the blow created a gapping hole through which Jimmy fell and landed in the basement below. Wasting not a moment, he rushed to his work station to retrieve his gadgets… and check their batteries.

Upstairs, Emma still did her best to fight off the many intruders. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she felt the cold heat of fear and hate drive her to fight harder. With graceful and fluid movements, she spun, jumped and tossed her body to protect herself and Layla who was now crouching under the kitchen table conjuring her move. As Layla concentrated and chanted, Emma leapt into the air, back flipped and landed on her feet on the kitchen table. She stomped her foot several times and retrieved the stakes that flew up consecutively from the launcher in her right leg. As soon as she caught one in her hand, she shot it directly to a target. As Emma activated another gizmo in her leg creating a series of spike to protrude from her shin, she continued to defend against the assault.

Down the basement Jimmy scrambled to insert the batteries into his glove and load the pellet explosives into the blow gun. He could hear the commotion upstairs and his rapidly beating heart told him to hurry. He inserted the last double a cell and heard the glove beep signaling it was ready for use. He heard Emma yell out in pain and began to move faster. His hands shook and his palms began to sweat causing him to drop pellets while trying to slide them into the tiny blow gun. "DAMN IT!" He would curse aloud. "Ninjas? How lame is that? Who sends Ninjas! It would have been cooler to send out Jem'Hadar!" He finally loaded the last one and ran up the stairs.

"I can't do this with all of that bloody racket!" Layla barked from her shelter.

"Well, hurry up damn it! You're supposed to be so damn powerful!" Emma struggled with her opponents. She was now back on the floor. One grabbed her from be hind and another attacked her with a knife. With a certain amount of effort, she was able to kick the knife out of his hands, but, not without having he arm sliced in the process.

"LAYLA!" Emma yelled as she broke free form the "ninja's" grip and elbowed him in the face.

"DAMN IT WOMAN! I'm trying! Shut up will you! MAK TO MAK TO MAK TO RENARIE MAK TO!" She resumed her chant and focused all that she could.

Suddenly, Jimmy emerged from the basement door and shot a pellet into the neck of an intruder with the blow gun. The annoyed man in black turned and made his way towards Jimmy, when suddenly he stopped and a look of severe discomfort took over his face. He reached up and placed a hand to the side of his neck and then with a wet sound, it exploded outward blowing away that half of his neck. The man instantly dropped to the ground.

Jimmy stood over him for a second and looked carefully; confused. He pulled the remaining sash from his blood soaked face. "EMMA! They're HUMAN!" Jimmy was tackled by another one. This time when he used his glove it worked and the man was sent flying back into the kitchen knocking over a few more of his cohorts.

"I know Jim! Is that a problem?" She yelled back as she tossed one back out of the window.

"It's just that… these guys won't burn up! This is going to be real messy! AND I'M going to have to clean it!" He said blowing a hole in one of the intruder's arms.

Finally as Emma head butted a "ninja" and snapped his neck, Layla's chanting began to show results. Sparks began to surge out from underneath the table and suddenly it flew up and back as Layla stood up with her arms out. Everyone in the room stopped and shielded their eyes. Layla's hair waved behind her and her eyes had become completely white. The energy building between her arms ripped open and grew and grew until the she was barely visible behind the bright blue light. Her voice echoed as she cried out her command.

"MAK TO AGBA NEFERU!" As the words were spoken, a wave of light pulsed through the house and like the tide, swept quickly back to the energy Layla had conjured. Once it returned, Layla closed her hands together and the light vanished along with all of the intruders. "Oh good." Layla mumbled softly while teetering on her feet. "It worked." The strength had been sapped from her body and Layla fell to the ground unconscious.

Jimmy dropped his glove and blow gun and ran to her side. He lifter her head felt her pulse and then lifter her eye lids one at a time to check her pupils. He cradled her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Layla! Please wake up!"

Emma came over and took her from his arms. She carried her down the hall, into Jimmy and Layla's bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed.

Jimmy stood over her shoulder and chewed his lip nervously. The fear crept up into his throat and the stomach turned with uneasiness. "We should call a doctor; take her to the hospital!" He demanded.

"And tell them what? Hey doc, out psychic friend here exhausted herself by sucking a bunch on blue ninjas into another dimension. Would you mind patching her up real quick so we can get back to killing vampires! You're the genius! Figure out what they would do next!" Emma sat next to Layla and brushed the hair from her wet face.

"What are we going to do then? Emma! I can't go through this again! I can't lose another…" Jimmy had begun to panic.

"AND YOUR NOT!" Emma yelled cutting him off. "You go to the shop and see if there's anything in the family journals about ninjas."

"What are you going to do?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm going to help Layla." She turned and looked Jimmy in the eyes. She wanted him to know that everything would be fine and that she knew what she was doing. Reluctantly he nodded and backed out of the room.

When Emma was sure that he was gone, she scooted closer to Layla and grasped both of her hands. "Ok, I know there is some part of you in there that can still hear me or even feel me. So, do that thing. That thing where you use me to heal yourself. Take what you need." Emma closed her eyes and offered her strength to her ailing friend.


	7. Confessions

**Chapter Seven**

**Confessions **

Layla sat straight up in bed. She felt her head and shook off the dizziness from being unconscious for so long. The faint blue veil of the spirit world swirled around her threatening to burst and fill her mind with the demands of the dead. She struggled to regain her control which was difficult after being unconscious from using all of her abilities to conjure what she did. She began to recite allowed the little poem her mother taught her; that always seemed to help her concentrate.

"Layla Wayla Bumble Bee. Mummy's little cup of tea. I'm as happy as can be, with Layla Wayla on my knee." After several seconds of disciplined concentration the threat was gone and Layla was at ease to open her eyes. However, when she did she was startled by the sight of her parents sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Blooming Christ!" She gasped. "I thought we discussed you not doing that anymore!"

"Hello poppet, and yes", her mother agreed, "But this is urgent and couldn't be helped. Your patience is urged."

"Fine. You have my patience." Layla scooted back on the bed and propped herself up waiting for her parents' spirits to start talking again.

"You and your friends can no longer hide." Her father spoke up. "Not form the Brotherhood. And not from … the others."

Layla looked sternly at the spirit of her father seated by her covered feet. The blue wallpapered walls reflected the iridescence of the spirits' inarguable skin and cast an eerie glow around the room.

"What others? Surely you don't mean the …" Layla was interrupted by her mother completing her sentence.

"The Faithful? Yes. That's exactly what we mean."

Layla scoffed at the notion and waved her mother off like a prank was being played on her. "You're pulling my leg right! The Faithful are a myth! They were just a scary bedtime story for initiates to learn about the dangers of misusing magics! It would be like telling me boogie man existed!"

Her parents looked at each other and then back at her with raised eyebrows smiling, not speaking a word.

"Oh my Goddess, the boogie man is real!" Layla proclaimed in shock at the realization.

"Yes but, he really isn't into the whole hiding in the closet thing anymore. He has a donut shop in Pennsylvania somewhere." Her father instructed. "But we didn't come here to talk about what mythical creatures are bakery owners now."

"But The Faithful can't be real! For some weird reason I can totally see the boogie man, but The Faithful… They aren't even mentioned in any journals or in any of the sacred texts."

"That's because no one wants to admit that they were once Brother Abgal Das. That they share the same teaching as we do; they just twist them. It would be like admitting to being related to Hitler. It would change everyone's view of your family." He answered.

"But they were passed on in form of stories and anecdotes to children and initiates in darkness and quiet of the bedtime rituals that parents and children share." He mother added.

"But if you are telling me NOW that they are real then they …"

"Are the ones responsible for the attack on the house today." Her mother interjected again.

Layla's eyes grew wide in amazement. "The sashes." She mumbled. "Be wary of the Misled Ones. For they are great deceivers and can be recognized by their azure array… Their blue sashes…" Layla trailed off into thought. "But, what does this mean? Why are they attacking us?"

"Isn't it obvious? You met with Finch the other day what did he tell you?" He father prodded full knowing what the clandestine meeting was about.

Layla looked down and furrowed her brow. She didn't want to admit what he former teacher had let slip to her. He was the only one left in the Brotherhood who knew of her whereabouts. He risked his position by coming out here to meet with her in secret. If anyone found out that he had aided in spiriting her away, he would be in a great deal of trouble. Especially letting an AWOL Abgal Da know about the goings on in the collective, for that he could lose everything! She had been waiting for a good time to tell Jimmy and Emma what Howard had warned her of. And maybe she was just hoping that it wouldn't affect them at all with them being so special and virtually unknown to the Brotherhood.

"Howard told me that the spirit of the Ba Musal was dying, and so far the Brotherhood could find nothing to stop it or correct it. He wanted to warn me of the danger that my friends could be in if they didn't know." She spoke sheepishly.

"And why haven't you told them?" He mother asked sternly.

Layla looked over at the bedside table and saw the 5x7 frame that housed a whimsical picture of Jimmy and her in a romantic kiss. Her heart seized as the thought of harm coming to him again attacked her thoughts. She closed her eyes and tears began to well.

"I'll be damned. Adira, you have succeeded in rendering her silent!" Her father teased.

"Papa, please. I was wanting to tell them when I sure. I didn't want to scare them." She clutched the blanket that covered her as if it could keep her from feeling the guilt that threatened to grow in the pits of her stomach.

"You mean you were afraid of how they would react when they found out you lied to them about your appointment at the café and what they would do when they found out you still were in contact with a Brother. They would have many questions for you, and you were afraid of what answers you would have and those you wouldn't." Her mother knew her well. As mush as Layla boasted and hid it well, she was easily hurt. "There is no shame in your meeting with Finch, poppet. There is nothing wrong with keeping touch with him. What was wrong was lying about it and you should know by now that that will be the only factor that will upset Jimmy and Emma. That you didn't trust them enough to tell them."

Layla sniffled at the true words her mother had spoken. She wiped her tear-streaked face and smiled at her parents. The light they emanated began to wane and they looked about themselves. "It's time for us to leave." Her father announced. "Remember, The Faithful are relentless and they won't stop until they get what they want. Their secrets have been well hidden for centuries. Your only hope is to trust in the Kor Tant Yul, he is good man and can help. He knows where you are and will contact you soon. No matter how dire things may get, don't lose faith in yourself or your friends. They can handle it. What ever comes, even though it may seem that all is lost, it is only temporary. You have the strength to get passed anything!" And they began to fade into nothingness as they slipped back into the veil.

"WAIT! What do they want! Why do you have to be so sodding cryptic all the time! It would have saved a lot of time if you would have just come out and said it!" Layla yelled out to the empty bedroom.

"Fine, you're a mouthy bitch who takes up all the hot water in the shower." Layla turned to find Emma standing in the doorway with a cup of hot tea looking very concerned.

Layla shook her head and gestured for her to come in. "Sorry I was talking to my parents. They decided to pop in and have a little chat."

Emma handed her the mug and Layla gently blew on the steaming liquid before carefully taking a sip. "Hmm, perfect. Thanks."

"So what did they want to talk about? I imagine it didn't have anything to do with the economy or politics." Emma sat on the bed next to Layla and waited for her to answer. The bandage she had wrapped around the deep cut on her arm had soaked through and blood was beginning to drip down her arm again. She felt the warm fluid run down her bicep and reached over wipe it away with her hand. When she did, tenderness became apparent and she winced from the pain.

This affected Layla. She looked over at the clock and realized that she had been out for a couple of hours. Layla had never seen Emma take so long to heal. "Thanks also for what you did for me earlier. Your like my own battery charger you know that!" Layla chuckled uncomfortably and looked back at Emma's arm. "That's odd right? It not healing already."

"Yeah, well, maybe it had something to do with 'recharging your batteries.' Who knows? So, anyway, your parents. What did they say? I'm sure it was pretty important, you know, for them to cross planes of existence and all." Emma ignored her throbbing arm and looked back at Layla.

Layla rubbed her face and thought for a carefully. She could hear her mother's words echoing in her mind. Finding her resolve, she began to speak. "You might as well call Jimmy and tell him to stop looking in the journals for anything on the crazy ninja people. My parents know who they are and they won't be found in any journals that we know of." Layla could see the curiosity and confusion building on Emma's face. "They aren't ninjas at all. They're members of a radical faction that seceded from the Brotherhood almost a thousand years ago. They call themselves The Faithful." Layla paused and allowed Emma to react.

"What? Why are they considered radical?" Emma exhaled.

"They believe that man-kind was blessed with the ability to control and manipulate magics and that it was at the discretion of the individual not the responsibility of a collective to determine its uses."

"I wouldn't quit define that as radical, more like constitutional." Emma intervened.

"Yes, well it's not like I disagree with that all that much myself. But, I also believe that there should be limits or else the world would be in chaos. And that isn't so much why they are considered radicals. There was some sort of disagreement between the ones who would become the Faithful and the Abgal Da. While the Abgal Da devoted all of their time and efforts on creating the Great Army, the Faithful believed that well enough should be left alone. They believed that the Ba Musal was sacred and should not be shared with the world. If I remember my bed time stories correctly, they were looking for some sort of Sleeping Beauty thing. They wanted to wake the Ba Musal herself up from her slumber, I think. The line goes "…bring rise to the Ba Musal anew…" That could mean any number of things. But the point is the same, they did NOT agree in the prospects of 'incarnates' such as yourself. And they believed in attaining their goal by ANY means necessary. They would stop at nothing no matter what the cost. The Brotherhood believed in the sanctity of life and that that was what the Ba Musal wanted. She wanted to rest, but, she also wanted her followers to be safe from the threat of the Uradda. With that being their core belief system, the protection of life, they were never willing to risk the lives of an innocent person or thing anywhere. That is what caused the split.

They Faithful called themselves such because they believed they were being 'faithful' to the sleeping Goddess by 'saving' her essence from being tainted by a lower being.

"And for their disloyalties, dangerous magical practices and their unsavory indifference to those outside the confines of the Brotherhood, they were banished from the fold and warned never to make their selves troublesome or cause harm or they would be dealt with accordingly by the Brotherhood itself. Since then, no one has really heard a peep from The Faithful. They became myth; a legend. My parents told it to me as a fairy story before bed. They were basically erased from the Brotherhood who would have it that they never existed so that such a shameful situation never happened." Layla stopped and sipped her tea. The sensation of the warm brew slowly rolling down her throat relaxed her body and eased her mind. It reminded her of why England had a set time for tea everyday. _"American's could learn a thing or two from the British tea time!" _She thought to herself.

"But why now? And why us? And how are you sure that it was them?" This was very overwhelming for Emma. It seemed like things were falling in her lap one after the other these days. As soon as one obstacle crossed her path another rose up just to spite her. She glared at Layla with insistent eyes, demanding that she finish slurping her tea and answer her question.

"First of all, I have NO idea how they found you when the Brotherhood isn't aware of you. As for being sure that it was them, my parents said so and the fact that they donned the blue sash was an indicator. Part of the story told of how they could be recognized by their azure array. I used to think that that part was meant for people like me, mediums who can sense and sometimes see auras. The array meaning beacon. I thought it meant they had a blue aura. But array can be used to describe one's garments as well. So the blue sashes would make sense."

"But that doesn't explain why they all of the sudden have made a cinematic entrance in MY house and tried to slice and dice me!" Emma was becoming impatient and Layla was purposely dragging her feet on this one.

"I believe it or they for that matter, have something to do with the dying spirit of the Ba Musal." Layla waited and prepared herself for whatever was coming next.

Emma froze and took in the statement slowly. She wanted to absorb every syllable to make sure she wasn't misinterpreting anything. Her blood ran cold and her neck began to tingle. She was afraid that the increasing anxiety would cause her to become nauseous. "Wait. What do you mean the 'dying' spirit of the Ba Musal? Wouldn't that mean that there would be no more vampire slayers? That I would be out of a job?"

"That's it precisely. For some reason they can't explain, incarnate around the world are losing their abilities and many have died from the fact. The current Kor Tan Yul, figure head of the Brotherhood of the Abgal Da, has been conscripting Brothers to travel the globe collecting the incarnates to keep them safe and find a cure or something like a cure." Layla's heart began to beat faster in fear of what Emma would say or do at the reception of this.

Emma stood from the bed and back up a foot or two. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and she shook her hand at Layla. "When did you find this out? HOW did you find this out!" Emma gritted through her teeth.

Meekly Layla bowed her head and began to answer. "Two days ago. When I went to the Grove Café to meet an old friend. It was my old teacher, Howard Finch. He's the Head of the Indiana House. He's the one who helped me sneak away to here and helped keep me hidden. He's the only one who knows that I am here and that you exist." Layla pushed herself up farther and gripped the sheets. She was ashamed of herself for not telling them sooner. It wasn't easy getting Emma to trust her when she first arrived. And Layla feared that any indication that she was some sort of spy would give Emma just the excuse she needed to show Layla the door.

Emma's brow lowered; her nostrils flared. She could feel the tips of her ears burn as she accepted all that Layla has confessed. "How could you? How could you lie to us! You look me straight in the eye and say that we are family and you sneak around behind out backs! You have secret meetings with the very people our parents tried to hide us from? You learn valuable information and keep it from us? We both could have been killed! Did you not realize that? Or what you thought it would be funny to watch us struggle and possibly suffer? Because you think you're better than us? Fuck you you stupid cow! I shoulda let you rot back in the book store last year!" Emma stormed out and slammed the bedroom door so hard that it pulled through the frame and stuck on the wrong side.

Layla could hear Emma in the other room bellowing on the phone for Jimmy to back home immediately. Now Layla was the one who felt like her body was on ice! She wanted to hide so badly! She wished there was something she could say or do to make this whole situation disappear. Not only was Emma to the point of tearing her face off, but, Jimmy knew now and she feared this would create a gap that could never be closed again.

She slid from the bed and began to walk to the broken bedroom door. She stepped down with her foot and felt the softness of crumpled fabric beneath her. It was Jimmy's shirt. She picked it up and held it close to her face. The scent of his cologne still lingered. She buried her face in it and tried not to weep. She wished he was here right now to hold her and tell her that everything would be ok.

The knot in her stomach told her that it was time to face Emma and explain herself. Maybe there was someway for her to salvage what was left between them. She owed them that much.

Emma paced in the kitchen. Jimmy sounded utterly heart broken when he said he would be home straight away. She hadn't felt this confused in a long time. And she didn't like feeling confused. It was like being out of control of her information! She suspected that some people may enjoy it; like piecing together a puzzle or something. But this was too much for her! She hated being lied to! Deceived! "_How could I be so stupid! What an idiot I was to buy all of her crap! She pretended this whole time to be so helpful and, in her weird aggressive way, caring about us! How could she do this to us? How could she hide all of this? How could I allow it? And the whole thing about the vampire slayers being no more! I don't if I can handle this! What would I do? Yeah I can see me becoming a secretary! I like being a slayer! There's nothing like hunting down a beastie and working out some aggression! I don't think I could go on with out it! Just be some ordinary person with a bum leg! No way! No way am I giving up the super-hero biz! I don't care if I can never carry on a normal relationship again! This is my heritage and I'm not going to let anyone take that from me! It's the one thing I have that makes me …special…"_

Layla pushed on the door forgetting that it was pushed through all of the way into the hall. There was a thick snap and Layla jumped. "Well, it's already broken… Might as well." With a quick and hard shove, she forced the door through the rest of the way and it broke free from its hinges. Leaning it against the wall, she turned and entered the kitchen.

Emma stood there staring out of the hole where the small kitchen window used to be. Glass was sporadically swept into piles through the blue and white linoleum floor. The kitchen table still remained derelict against the far wall; broken legs and everything. Layla took a step forward and heard a crack and then a series hollow taps as bits and pieces of rubble fell to the basement below through the gaping hole that Emma created earlier.

"Careful. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or anything." Emma stated flatly without turning around. "I don't think you want to be around me right now. Still working on that temper you know. Tends to get the better of me. But then again, if what you say is true, soon I'll be helpless as a bird with clipped wings."

The gravity of Layla's revelation was weighing heavy on Layla's chest. "Emma, please don't be cross with me. I …"

"Cross? CROSS?" Emma whipped around angrily and faced the defeated Layla. "You fucking lied… ABOUT EVERYTHING! You said you were 'sent' here! You weren't! You ran away basically following the instructions an all powerful Goddess who went all crazy like and almost allowed another psycho Vampire Goddess to roam free! Then you tell us that no one knows we are here, that somehow we were overlooked. And now you say that the HEAD of a Motherhouse DOES know we're here! You lied about your meeting with him, and you didn't even bother to tell us that we were about to lose the only family legacy we have left! Did you not think about Jimmy at least? I mean you claim to love him and all, but, who knows you've lied about everything else!"

Layla began to shake her head in vehement disagreement.

Emma continued waving off Layla's defensive head shaking. "Whatever. All I know is, come tonight, you are gone! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! I knew it right form the goddamn start! I knew it! I told him not to let you stay here! But, what can you do? Jimmy's a man and they have penises! Beyond that, nothing else matters!" Emma turned back around and looked back out the window at the cloudy sky. The wind smelled metallic and fresh with just a taste of moisture. A late spring rain was about to pour down. "That's great." Emma nodded sarcastically. "Good thing most of the windows and doors were busted out by rouge ninjas."

"I'm so sorry, but, it's…" Layla began again.

"Please. Save it." Emma rolled her eyes and began picking up bits of glass and wood like she had been doing while Layla was unconscious.

Layla remained there in uncomfortable silence as Emma occupied her mind with tedious cleaning. Just as Layla bent down to help, the front door squeaked open and Jimmy walked in.

Layla stopped and stood to greet him with a shy smile. He could only glance at her. It hurt to look into her large chocolate orbs without feeling the pain of her deception. Jimmy shied away and walked directly passed Layla and towards his sister who continued to scoop glass into brown paper bags. He dropped his green canvas duffle and squatted down next to Emma. He grabbed her hands as she reached for another handful of glass. He turned them palms up and saw that they were covered in tiny cuts and blood.

"Emma, stop." He whispered to her. She looked up into his eyes and wanted to cry form all of the frustration. It felt like there was nothing she could do and it killed her.

"If I lose this, it would be like they died for nothing! Or like they died and now I can't stop it from happening again to another girl trapped in a closet. Everytime I miss one Jim, it's like I relive the whole thing for someone else! I couldn't cope with that everyday of my life!" Emma whispered. The red rims of her eyes became moist and a single tear fell from her right eye. Jimmy reached forward and retrieved it.

"I know Emma Bemma. But we're gonna fix it. I promise. Everything is going to work out. It's what we do!" He smiled and helped her stand. She turned and began rinsing her hand in the kitchen sink. Jimmy turned and forced himself to raise his head and face his beloved exotic princess standing in the kitchen doorway.

He couldn't stand this. He hated fighting with her. He didn't agree with her lying them, but it didn't change the fact that he loved her deeply. She looked like she was suffering so much inside. Her face looked like she had just walked in from the cold. She held her arms across her chest and she continuously rubbed her bare biceps as though she really were freezing.

If it were truly possible his heart would have leapt through chest at heart. It wanted close to her so badly. But his rational mind kept telling him to make her wriggle and not to trust what he was seeing because she has already lied. But, Jimmy's heart pounded relentlessly and its constant drumming was louder and more convincing than his rationality. He looked at her in the eye and began to walk towards her with his arm extended out.

As soon as she saw the gesture, she broke down. Her heart gave in and she wept. He held her tightly in his arms as he drove his face into her sweet smelling hair.

"Why didn't you just say something?" He asked holding back his own tears. "That was all you had to do was tell us! I don't know why you felt like you had to lie and keep things from me? I love you!"

"Oh Bullshit!" Emma exclaimed when she noticed what was going on behind her. "She fucking lied Jim! She's a goddamn spy!"

"You never let me explain!" Layla pleaded. "You're constantly acting instead of thinking!"

"You better watch your fucking mouth Layla, you're in my house remember!" Emma threatened.

"So what I'm just supposed to stand here like a bloody git and let you act all brassed off and continue to gut me? For once you should shut your yapper and let someone else talk!" Layla defended.

"Oh that's a hoot coming form you! I've tried everything to get you to shut the fuck up but it has proved an impossibility! You simply lack the capability!"

Jimmy had been stuck in the middle of the two warring women long enough. He swore to himself that his neck was going to be sore tomorrow from flipping his head back and forth. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" He yelled throwing his arms up. "STOP IT! Emma, let Layla explain before you condemn her!"

Layla smiled and raised an eyebrow cheering Jimmy for defending her right to speak.

"And Layla, you need to understand that by lying and sneaking around behind out backs you have placed us all at great risk! She has every right to be pissed off. Now, I love you, but, I really hope that what you have to say excuses that!" Jimmy stepped back and gave her room to speak.

Layla bowed her head and searched for the right context. She realized that too many times things she had just blurted out were completely misunderstood because of lack of proper context. "About meeting with Howard, I was afraid that you WOULD think I was a spy! And I'm not! I chose to be here! I had grown increasingly disillusioned with the Brotherhood; especially after me mum and dad were killed. I guess I had been looking for a way out when Aslyn told me about you two here. I was more than happy to go! I just needed a little help. The Brotherhood doesn't take members leaving too well and for good reason! People could blab all of the secrets to who ever would listen! Howard had been a friend of my family since well before I was born. He taught me much of what I know today. Taught me how to conjure portals and control my abilities. I knew I could trust him with anything! So, with his help I was able to leave the Indiana House and sneak off to Missouri to help you. Of course I was lied to by Aslyn why she wanted me to come here. But, still I stayed and I helped you! And have ever since then! As for keeping in contact with him, I felt that it was an advantage for us! If anything nasty was headed our way, he could let me know and we could be ready! And like I have already said, you would have thought that I was a spy so I never told you. About the waning power, I was waiting for the right time! I wanted to be sure. I guess I was hoping that it would pass over us being that no one else could sense you, or maybe the Brotherhood could fix it before it affected you! But I was wrong, and for that I apologize. Please believe me! I love this house! I love being a part of both of your lives! I would never do anything that I thought would jeopardize that!" Layla stopped her monologue with tears in her eyes and looked over at Jimmy. He smiled awkwardly and nodded. Emma on the other hand just stood there with her arms folded and her eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Well, isn't that convenient. How simply you have explained your LYING to us! All of that shows to me is that you don't trust us and you don't respect us. It just proves that you can't be trusted. How are we to believe anything you say anymore?" Emma looked at Layla with such contempt. _"Worst thing in the world", _she thought to herself, _"being lied to. It's like telling someone their unworthy to hear the truth."_

"I think you're worthy!" Layla spoke up abruptly and shattered the overwrought silence.

Emma stood up straighter, snapped her head back up and stared at Layla with vicious eyes. "You said you wouldn't do that unless you had permission!" She growled.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! I just want to end this! We have more important things to be worrying about than your insecure crap!" Layla spat.

Emma began to storm across the room towards the fiery Brit. "You think you're so goddamn bad Layla? Take a shot then! You think you're so much better then me just because you grew up with all that privilege and special 'I talk to dead people' powers? You think because of all of that you can just say whatever the hell you want to people? You bitch constantly about how I'm just the muscle, how I don't know any better and blah blah blah… You complain how my staying at home all the time causes YOU problems with YOUR sex life! Well, guess what, I happen to like being a 'vampire slayer!' I like being 'a compatible vessel for reincarnation'! I like being this way!

I like staying at home and sleeping! I like going out and getting to kill bad guys! I get to kick the crap out of things on a nightly basis! And I'm good at it! How cool is that! I can run faster and jump higher better than any other person NOT a reincarnation of an ancient vampire killing Goddess! How many people get to work out all of their aggressions and frustrations by beating up the walking undead? And you sit there and call me the 'muscle' like it's a bad thing. I could give a shit Layla. I have enough trouble listening to myself bad mouth me, I don't need a chorus!"

Jimmy had been standing in-between them worried that things would get worse quickly. But he was growing weary of being in the middle of their little tiffs. Emma was really upset this time. Mostly it was just her shouting at Layla for her saying something rude or snide about Emma's intelligence of lack of a social life. This time it was Emma attacking Layla for her poor decision. And couldn't really blame her all that much for her anger. It was Emma's lack of self control that worried him. Emma is used to being able to beat, pummel, and even kill what ever she feels threatens or angers her and he was afraid she was about to forget that Layla wasn't and evil creature of the nocturnal and in fact a human being who made a mistake.

"Boo hoo. Emma is hard on herself." Layla mocked. "We are all supposed to feel so sorry for sad, pathetic Emma who's had such a rough go of it! Let's all pat her on the back for getting out of bed in the morning and being able to face the world! Wait a tick, YOU DON'T FACE ANYTHING! You couldn't even handle going to a pub and trying a little flirty-wirty with getting all gutted!"

Jimmy looked at Layla sternly trying to make it clear to her that this wasn't going to help any and then Emma leaned in to give her biting response.

"OH! Excuse the hell out of me for defending myself against some drunken date rapist who thought he could man-handle me! And you try flirting with a guy with 'hey hot stuff my name is Emma, I'm a freakishly strong vampire slayer with some assembly required' as a pick up line and see how long they stick around! Besides LAYLA, in this town, it's not likely that a gorgeous, single guy is going to conveniently walk up and knock the door looking for someone like me!"

As soon as she uttered the last word in the sentence, there was a hollow rap at the open front door and a voice of a young man calling out. "Hello, is this the home of Emma Hogan?"

The three stopped instantly and looked towards the door wide eyed and blinking. Silence took over the home as they stood in complete astonishment. There stood a tall handsome man with sandy hair and broad shoulders. He stood perfectly still on the outside of the doorway awaiting a response from the frozen and silent three.

The trio exchanged glances and of course Layla broke the hush. "Since when are you the bloody psychic?"

"I'm sorry, if I am interrupting something, but it's very important that I find the Hogan twins." The man continued in his song-like Irish accent.

_"Holy crap." _Emma stammered dumb struck under her breath. She couldn't believe her luck! She couldn't breathe! There stood the most attractive male specimen she had ever seen in her life in her very own doorway! Her heart struggled to keep its rhythm but she found it beating more and more erratic. He was almost beautiful! Time seemed to slow as she made permanent note in her mind of his striking attributes. His short tousled sandy hair, his flashing green, bedroom eyes perfectly crowned with long, full lashes. _"Men always get that stuff women try so hard for!" _She thought to herself, _"Good hair, the ability to grow long nails, and always long full lashes!" _His build was so broad and masculine that she felt that if she didn't run a hand down one of his well formed biceps that she would cry. Even though he was wearing a thick cotton shirt and brown leather jacket, his pectorals were well defined through the fabric. She almost quivered at the sight of his full, flawlessly shaped lips turn up into a suave, yet awkward smile showing a row of perfect, white teeth. "Perfect." She mistakenly said aloud.

"I'm sorry?" He asked.

Emma shook her head to bring herself back into reality. Suddenly, she was more aware of the sounds in the room and the fact that everyone was looking at her rather funny. Jimmy leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"Wipe your mouth; you've got a little drool there."

Emma shoved the chuckling brother back and instinctively wiped her mouth with the back of her hand to make sure. She stepped up a couple of feet and attempted to recover from her embarrassing remark.

"I meant you're in the perfect place! I'm Emma Hogan and this is my brother Jimmy. What can we do for you?" She could feel her face heat up and turn red as she stumbled over her words… and the living room rug. Trying to ignore the fact that she almost fell on her butt, she quickly gestured for him to enter. He stepped over the threshold and lowered his computer bag and duffle.

"Brilliant, we have much to discuss and little time. My name is Aiden MacAlister."

Layla stepped forward in shock as she pushed passed Emma. "You're an Abgal Da!" She announced.

"You're from the Brotherhood?" Emma asked carefully.

"Yes, actually. And I am afraid I need you to come with me, including you… Ms. Fellows." Emma and Jimmy jerked in shock, but Layla stood firm and squared her eyes. "There are some who believe you owe them a great deal of explanation."

Jacksonville, Illinois

Rebecca had always been careful. She didn't even drive off in her care without first buckling her safety belt and locking her doors. When it came to hunting, it was no different. She always carried a cell phone, extra stakes, a tazer, and plenty of knives. She even made sure that her short black hair was tightly pulled back and pinned down so that it would stay out of her eyes. But, tonight she had this odd sense about her. She felt uneasy and unsure. Both feelings she didn't like and definitely wasn't used to.

Rebecca walked cautiously through the park. Through the darkness, she squinted looking between trees and brush searching for her lurking prey. She could feel him; she could feel something, but the buzzing, dizzying feeling in her head stopped her from discerning what. It had been happening on and off for a couple of days now. This faint, dizzy feeling worried her. Ever since these "episodes" began, her confidence in her abilities and self had begun to fade.

The uneasiness had grown into a sour turbulence in her gullet. Her head began to swoon and slowly she was brought to her knees. She clutched the thick moist grass in her fist and held her heavy head with her other hand. The loose earth pushed up and under her nails as she struggled to regain her bearings. Her brain began to pound and her ears welled up with tears. It was like having someone reach into your head, rummage around and then start pulling things out! The pain became so intense; she was barely able to keep herself from sprawling out onto the cool, dew covered lawn. Rebecca tried not to moan from the pain but the sound found its own way and crept out of her throat. Her ears felt warm and the sensation of liquid running along her jaw provoked her to touch her neck and chin to be sure. When she brought her fingertips up to her eyes she was horrified by the sight of bright red blood covering them! She checked again and followed the trail up to her ear. Her ears were bleeding! She began to sob. She couldn't comprehend what was happening to her! Why couldn't she move or think! Why did she feel there was a tuning fork in her head trying to scoop her brain matter out?

"Wha… What's happen...ing?" She struggled to speak the words. It seemed her whole body was locked. Suddenly, a pair of black clad feet appeared out of no where infront of her view. She slowly forced her non-compliant head up little by little to either beg for help or look into the face of an attacker. As her eyes lifted a dark blue sash appeared and practically brushed against her nose.

"Do you know why you are in so much pain? Because, that pure and glorious spirit you possess is finally clawing its way out of that filthy, undeserving shell of yours! We are quite surprised you lasted this long with its power draining away from you over the past few days. Amazing, really, that you still held your own against the beastly Uradda without the advantages. Most of you False Ones die in combat before this final stage of the spirit ripping its core from your fragile brains. I know that this must be extremely painful. Not to worry, I'm here to end it for you." The man stood up and retrieved a sword with a Romanesque hilt. With one swift and fluid movement he pulled the sword up and left severing Rebecca's head from her shoulders.

"What are you waiting for?" The man addressed his cohorts who waited by his side. "Retrieve it and let's go." The two other's who were dressed in the same black tunics and blue sashes, knelt down to the decapitated corpse and began to chant holding a tear shaped bottle.

"Quickly, the Sanctus Unus awaits us. He has chosen a Carina but cannot complete the ritual without the collected spirit. We must finish our holy duty so that the Goddess may rise again."

The others continued their chant under the moonlight and it danced morbidly off of the collected pools of blood from Rebecca's headless neck. A soft white glow filled the tear shaped bottle and the sash bearing men all disappeared into the shadows with their task complete.


	8. The Congress of Elders

**Chapter Eight**

**The Congress of Elders**

London, England

The Congress had been in deliberation for three days. There in a large cave-like room the Elders stood in a great circle resembling Stonehenge; each under a large stone arch-way. Thirty of them were positioned in the outer ring, six in the middle, while the Kor Tant Yul stood solitary in the center at a grand stone altar. Each individual wore rich burgundy robes with gold embroidery around all of the hems and possessed flaming torches stationed to their rights. A weary yet reverent silence had over taken the once deafening commotion.

The six Highest Ones in the inner circle stood firmly as the light from their torches danced brilliantly off of their richly adorned breastplates that hung from their necks by a simple golden chain. The plates were large and square. There was a row of hieroglyphs down the center of the plates that spelled out the rank they held as highest in their order. On either side of the glyphs were many large and rare gems imbedded into the gold. It was obvious that these adornments were very old and important; each Highest One had been given their particular breastplate from their predecessors and so and so on. Little had changed over the millennia when it came to choosing a Highest One for each of the six orders of magics. Every Highest One had to have a lifetime of experience, vast knowledge of the magics of his order, and proven him self to be the greatest among his Brothers. After these were determined, and the candidates were chosen, the order would vote and this would establish a Highest One. The choosing for the Kor Tant Yul is very similar, but the recent decision to bestow Martin Kessler with that honor had caused a bit of a coo and since all of the turmoil that had arisen under his leadership, the Highest Ones have been reluctant to trust that he was the wise choice.

Kessler scribbled furiously on the parchment, he looked up to see all eyes on him as they had been for the last few days. Chills ran down his spine as the sweat of responsibility collected upon his forehead. _"Why me?"_ He thought to himself. He reached out for the small wooden mallet. Kessler took a deep breath as he studied the shiny sphere at the end of the wooden stick. Did he want to continue? Or would it be possible to just turn around and walk out of this hot and damp cave? Shaking the thought from his strained mind, he looked over the altar. There lie the scrolls and parchment with quill he had been writing on, and to their left the ring. A large brass ring hung from an iron stand and awaited Kessler to tap it with the simple mallet he held in his moist palm. With a forced move, he brought the mallet down onto the ring and the high pitched sound rung out and reverberated against the walls for seemed like forever.

"Bona per Pondera." Kessler called out with arms out in an open gesture.

"Ago Porro quod Prospicio." The group returned. There was a series of yawns and then coughs before the silence returned.

"Now that I have all of your attentions, let me continue. It is clear that after hundreds of years, The Faithful have returned and plan to resurrect the most holy Ba Musal." His comment had once again triggered several wails and outbursts from the Congress of Elders.

"Blasphemy!" Several cried out.

"Balderdash!" Others huffed. As the onslaught of angry voices continued Martin Kessler bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. Without looking up, he took the mallet in his right hand and banged it over and over again onto the brass ring. Slowly, but not completely, the voices lowered. When the cave did not become silent, Martin called out.

"If I break this bloody thing trying to get you all to be quiet than I will just have to get a much larger one and a jackhammer!" Silence befell the crowd. "Thank you."

The Highest One of the Order of Veneficus tapped his staff onto the stone floor signaling that he requested to speak.

"The Kor Tant Yul recognizes The Highest One of the Order of Veneficus." Martin announced and allowed the man who was widely considered the greatest medium in history to speak.

"It has been widely accepted that The Faithful was no more than a fairy story. If we are to actually believe that they have risen up and plot to destroy all that we have worked for generations for, how do they plan to pull this do off?"

Martin nodded. His frustration was mounting. He answered and re-answered these questions for three days now! It was proof that they never really listened to him! Or, it was that they were trying to catch him in a lie. "As I have discussed with my fellow Brothers, at length these last few DAYS, I have informed you that I found a very ancient scroll, ironically, hidden among the texts on magical concealment. It speaks of The Most Holy origins of the Ba Musal."

Once again the group began to rustle with restless malcontent. Further mumbles of blasphemy echoed through the cavern. As before, Martin Kessler raised his mallet to the ring and tapped hit accordingly, as he called for them to quiet their disparity.

"Brothers! Please! All of us in this room sprang into existence from that of our mothers' wombs! How is it so difficult to believe that the Ba Musal was any different?"

Another Highest One raised his torched and tapped it onto the damp stone floor.

"The Kor Tant Yul recognizes The Highest One of the Order of Sive." Martin gestured for the master of the art of conjuring to step forward and share his piece.

"It is not that we find the thought of the Most Holy Ba Musal being birthed from a womb, even a mortal womb! The notion that is most despicable to us is the suggestion that the seed to which fertilized that womb, her father, was a low-creature… An Uradda!" The Highest One clenched his fist as he uttered the ancient name of the vampires. He spit upon the ground and all of the Brothers in the stone gathering began tapping their torches on the floor. Embers spat forth from the tidy flames and smoke rose to the stalactites above. Martin fought to regain control by tapping the ring but it barely rose above clamor of the beating torches.

Without recognition the Highest One of the Order of Mens Tractus stepped forward and began his accusation of the appointed Kor Tant Yul. "And all you have to show us is a scroll reading more like an old gypsy fairytale and little more! That is what you are claiming isn't it? That our glorious Goddess was nothing else but a Dhampir!"

Martin continued to tap on the ring and doing his best to ignore the man who had decided to forgo the procedures and attack him. The Highest One of the Order of Sive became agitated by the Kor Tant Yul's disregard to his insights and with his telepathy; he forced the mallet out of Martin's hands and caused it to fly into his own. Martin's temperature began to rise at the Highest One's audacity. Wasn't their whole shtick about tradition and following ritual and procedure? And here this pompous and pious blowhard was stepping all over his proverbial toes! He looked out amongst the crowd. The Highest One of Sive stood still holding the mallet and looking at Martin with quizzical eyes. If he was to gain their respect, now was the time. They would never acquiesce to what he called for.

They wouldn't believe a man whom they didn't think should be in this position. They found him to be weak and stupid. He knew for a fact they did! They made jokes behind his back, and sometimes he even found satirical cartoons drawn to imply that he preferred his magic with a wand and a top hat! He had also found some that called reference to the fact that his father was a dear friend of the last Kor Tant Yul before he died. It was often suggested (most often in the cartoons he found scrawled on napkins left on lunch tables) that because his father also passed away before he could be named, the Brotherhood settled for second best; that Martin was chosen out of pity.

Martin did his best to force the deafening noise from his head. He had to show them why he was the Kor Tant Yul. Not because of his father and not because of pity. But, that he was a powerful member of the Order of Lamia and that he WOULD be heard! He clapped his hands together and angrily cried out. "SUSMA!" A pale light grew between his hands and he then ripped them apart and held his arms outstretched at his sides. With a quick flash the crowd fell silent. The befuddled Brothers looked back and forth at each other trying to speak but not sound escaped their lips. They pounded their torches upon the stones but not an echo was heard. Some looked towards the Kor Tant Yul in confusion the others looked at him in anger. But, Martin Kessler had accomplished his goal; they all were looking at him waiting for him to speak.

"I know what the Highest Ones are thinking right now, that I have violated out sacred protocols. But, if you will read carefully over the Modus Operandi of the Congress, you would see than once the Highest One of Sive spoke out of turn, and causing from his statement a riot, I had gained the right to re-establish order by means that I saw fit with in reason. And I am fairly certain that I was not going to be heard otherwise!

"Just because some of you do not think that I am old enough, or you think I am weak, or you think I gained this position because of my father's acquaintances, well, to an extent you might be correct! But, there are several of you out there who called for me because you know I can do this! I came to this position at a joyous and now difficult time. I have to weigh every option. Even if it means opening my self up to possibilities I once who think as blasphemy. But, if you would just allow yourself to listen for a moment, you might see that it makes sense! It doesn't make her any less of a goddess! It makes her more so than ever! She was the child of a vampire! It would make sense that she would be given some advantages. We know she had a soul. Hell, we used it to create an army of warriors like her! The fact that she made a choice; a choice to use her abilities to strike down evil, THAT my Brothers is what made and makes her a Goddess. I don't believe that good and evil are ever truly predetermined. I don't believe you are either until you are forced to make a decision. It's the choice that defines it! Don't you see? That is what separated us from the Faithful, we made different choices! We devoted our lives to ensuring the lives of future innocent people. They devoted theirs to selfish desires and misread texts!

"I am asking you all now to make a choice. Will you stand together now as one voice and help us find the Faithful to stop them from birthing a new Dhampir to mold towards their self-seeking purposes. Or will you allow them to destroy humanity's only hope against hell on Earth?" Martin took a breath and waited for a response. After a moment he noticed he was receiving odd looks from the crowd and realized he had not yet lifted the spell. "Oh! Sorry bout that!" He clapped his hands once more and spoke, "AMSUS!" Once again, the Brothers were able to create sound.

Relieved, the Brothers looked at each other. Then, like the hand of a clock, one by one they pounded their torches onto the stones making the flames shoot up higher than before. Each Brother in the outer circle and then the inner circle of the Highest Ones had caused their flame to rise. As soon as the last torch burned larger the Highest One of the Order of Sive stepped forward and spoke. "We are with you Kor Tant Yul."

Martin's heart relaxed and he smiled in relief. The Highest One returned his mallet and Martin then banged on the ring to signal that the Congress was adjourned. As soon as the sound echoed throughout the circles, Brothers began removing their hoods and heading for a set of large oak doors to the left of the congress stones.

Martin did the same just as his old friend Frederick came up next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done old chap! Well done in deed! I only wish you would have delivered that speech two bloody days ago!" They chuckled as they followed the group filing out of the large oak doors. As if perfectly ordinary, they casually stepped through the doors from the dark, dank and damp cave into a shiny, modern and bustling lobby complete with receptionists and security guards. "So what do you say old boy? Roberto's for lunch? I hear they have a fantastic ravioli de pesci!"

But, before Martin could finish removing his robes, a very frantic Virginia came sprinting (as best as she could) across the chocolate and beige diamond, marble tile. "MR. KESSLER! THERE'S NEWS! YOU HAVE TO HEAR STRAIGHT AWAY! MR. MACALISTER IS IN MISERY!"

"Misery?" Frederick repeated perplexed by why this would be as dire as she made it out to be. "Has he been hurt Ms. Welch?" Martin's companion asked the out of breath and red faced woman.

"I don't think so he sounded fine to me on the telephone!" She huffed as she gasped for air. "He said something had come up. That he knew where Finch and Fellows were. He said that they too were in misery." She straightened her short brown curls and waited for Martin's response.

When he realized that once again Virginia had garbled the message, he rolled his eyes and began reminding him to remind himself to hire a new assistant when this was all over. "I get it. Missouri. Virginia, thank you. And take the day off and get your sodding ears checked, will you?" Virginia smiled and tuttled off.

"I guess this means my flight plans have changed. Maybe I will check out Roberto's when I return. I have to go and call Mr. MacAlister and find out where I am buying a ticket to in Missouri!"


	9. Chapter Eight: ACT TWO

**Meanwhile Somewhere in the World….**

Another group returned with their collections. They placed their blue glowing bottles onto the altar at the head of the sand stone temple. It was ancient, lit by torch light and the sight of so many black clad, awed beings made it that more reverent. The great carved archways seemed immeasurable and made the many gatherers in long linen tunics and blue sashes look insignificant against the soaring buttresses.

The altar itself was unusually long for such a thing. Its ancient and ornate carvings had been slowly worn away by time and were now barely visible to the untrained eye. As they finished placing the bottles onto the, they knelt in respect towards the door behind it. Through the solid oak paneled entrance, a studious hand scanned ancient writings on aged parchment. Large fingers ran gently over the yellowed and textured surface as if the very feel of it would imprint it onto his mind. The man in the long indigo robes whispered the words as he quickly read them. He had devoted his focus intently to the brittle scroll held down by his large masculine hands.

Suddenly the large oak door creaked open and a young man rushed in. He quickly dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

Without looking up from the parchment the man in the indigo tunic spoke. "To what do I owe this interruption?" His voice was smooth yet commanding. He continued to read as the humbled one responded.

"Profound apologies oh Sanctus Unus, but, I have news to report." His sloppy brown hair fell down to his nose as he spoke; not once raising his face.

"Speak so that I may return to my studies. My hallowed position requires a large amount of diligent devotion. And I don't have to tell you how difficult it can be to find your place when you are reading ancient Sumerian." The reached for a long, flat ruler-like piece of wood and laid it across the parchment.

"Of course you're Holiness. I came to inform you that the group that was sent to the central of the United States has returned nor have they checked in at the pre determined time. So far, our efforts here to locate them have been fruitless." His voice seemed to shake as he ended his report. Sweat on his brown began to collect and roll down to the tip of his porous nose.

The Sanctus Unus rose from his Romanesque seat. Gathering his many robes, he turned and faced the penitent man on the floor. He held his pale, gaunt face high and smoothed the well kempt black curls on top of his head. He stepped forward slowly and placed a hand atop the head of the genuflecting worshiper.

"Rise. You have done well to tell me this. Go and bring Deslin to me. We will soon know what has happened to your vanished compatriots. I have it on instinct that your wayward Brothers may have something to do with this. They have been causing quite the interlude into our great works by spiriting away those filthy shells that exploit our Holy Goddess's essence." He lifted his great hand and gestured for the young man to hurry about his business.

As the door shut, the Sanctus Unus glided across the stony floor covered in elegant oriental rugs to another smaller entry. He lifted the heavy iron latch and the door slowly swung open. There amidst the light of a single candle, a woman sat up bound at a forty degree angle to a bed. Her body began to shake while in a tattered and stained gown. The bed sheets themselves were stained even worse with blood, sweat and other bodily fluids both belonging to her and not.

She began to whimper lowly behind her filthy gag. Her greasy auburn hair fell over her eyes as she blinked wildly. The Sanctus Unus lifted a long finger to her sculpted lips and shushed her softly as hr continued to make his way to her side. "It's ok my dear. I came to give you the good tidings! You'll want to be quiet so you can take in the moment! It's not everyday that a young woman gets to hear this! All of your sacrifice has paid off!" The words rolled from his lips a smooth as honey from centuries of practiced articulation. He continued to shush her as he ran a hand up her left thigh over the sticky dried stains of caked on blood and semen. She moaned in pain under his touch and he laid a hand on her greasy forehead. "It's ok! It's worked! It's finally worked! That means you and I don't have to continue the Joining anymore! After trying so many times with so many others and with you! You are the one! My dearest, you are to be the mother of a Goddess!" He announced these words and she fell into heated sobs. He ran his hand over her tender belly and her fragile chest heaved under the weight of the news that had struck her. After weeks of rape, this beast had impregnated her! She shook her head from side to side. She was hoping that his entrance tonight would mean her death! She could no longer live through this pain and limitless torture anymore. But this! This was far worse than death! What would this thing be inside of her?

The Sanctus Unus smiled proudly as he gleaned at her abdomen. His pointed eye teeth glinted in the candle light and his black eyes seemed to sparkle with pride. "I know it is hard to contain your elation my love, but you must calm yourself. It isn't good for the baby!"


	10. London's Calling

**Chapter Nine**

**London's Calling**

Walnut Grove, Missouri

Emma sat leaning back on the old yellow couch in the basement. She sat playing with her hair; soaking up all of what this Aiden MacAlister had explained. He had confirmed all that Layla had confessed to earlier and then some. Apparently he, like many other Abgal Da Brothers, was sent out to collect as many of the incarnates as possible. But, when he arrived he discovered that the head of the Indiana Motherhouse and one of its most powerful initiates was missing.

"You could imagine my utter shock when my investigation into the whereabouts of Mr. Finch led me to discover a Ba Musal incarnate here that we had never knew about and that not only was she the child of TWO Abgal Da Brothers, but she had a TWIN brother who shared that incarnate soul!" Aiden had tried his best to hide his enthusiasm, but, as his sentences grew longer and came faster the trio could easily see that this revelation had meant a great deal to him.

Emma tried to listen to everything that exited his exquisitely sculpted lips but found herself focusing more on their perfect shape and soft appearance than actually hearing the words they were creating. She had shaken herself free from her revelry only to slip into measuring the length of his lengthy eyelashes. It was Layla who her when she had noticed Emma extensively observing his well chiseled buttocks while he paced in front of them.

For now, he paced next to them busily conversing on his wafer thin cellular. Jimmy had taken to tinkering with his gadgets at his work station behind them. It always helped him think if he did so while tinkering. Layla still remained on the tattered old couch with her knees drawn up to her chest and grinning childishly at the deeply pensive Emma.

"I was wrong about you muscles. You found a perfectly good penis with a very nice face all on your own!" She teased.

Emma threw her head back on the couch and tossed a cushion at the Cheshire Layla. "Would you stop it! Just because he's on the phone doesn't mean he can't hear you! Besides, if he's a Brother, then he can probably read minds too!"

"Oh no, he's a telekinetic! Ooo! Just imagine how that would come in handy in the bedroom!" Layla cackled with her face in her hands. She amazed even herself with her last comment.

"Layla!" Emma grunted through her teeth trying desperately for her to be silent. "I can't think with you constantly being a perv! I need to think!" Emma covered her face with her hands and rubbed vigorously.

"And what are you thinking about exactly? Is it the proposal or is it his bum again? Because, if it's the bum, I can't say that I blame you!"

Emma turned her head sharply and glared at Layla threateningly gesturing for her to stop her teasing. Before she could utter another verbal warning, Jimmy appeared and leapt over the back of the couch; sitting in between them. He placed one of Emma's many mechanical feet that he had been working on on the plank wood coffee table and exhaled heavily.

"What do you think? Should we just go?" He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt. Instead of replacing them, he just let them drop to his lap and laid his head on the back of the couch. Looking up at the ceiling, he thought of the many times he had seen this aspect of the room. The times as a child that his father had tossed him in the air playing Sunday morning wrestling. The times they had all come down here to watch a Friday night movie and Jimmy would invariably fall asleep on the couch half way through. There was also the time he had been watching Shea, who had nagged him incessantly to watch her, perform her latest cheerleading routine and then knocked him onto his back when she miscalculated a flip. And of course, when they were allowed back into the house after the cleaners had finished washing and scrubbing away all of the blood. He had somehow discovered a few tiny specs on one of the ceiling squares and lay on his back for what seemed like days staring at them for what seemed like days. He had squinted for so long trying to discover just by vision whose blood it was. For all he knew it could have been Emma's. But whose ever it was, he could remove it. Eventually Emma did. She had scolded him saying it was morbid and even she couldn't stand to look at it or even stand knowing it was there.

All of the training that came next, the building of Emma's legs, discovering Pop's books. All of it under this ceiling As he blinked his eyes memories of him and Emma writhing on the floor with their heads filled with the knowledge of their ancestors unable to get it out, but, Layla did and saved them both. He recalled him a Layla making love for the first time on this couch. Something he knew that if Emma did, she wouldn't be sitting here right then and then she would probably vote to burn it. All of these things that happened right here, and they were thinking of leaving it all not knowing if they would ever return to it. How could they think of leaving a place so pregnant with memories both good and bad? After all, they're all still memories of their lives, weren't they?

Emma had jerked her head up and stared intently at Jimmy. "Oh that's just sick!"

Jimmy pulled out his musing of he and Layla's first encounter and blinking returned his twin's stare.

"I told you! Not anywhere where I sit! ACK! That's a check in the 'FOR LEAVING' column!"

"AHA!" Layla announced pointing at the disgusted Emma who was quickly rising from her seat. "I told you James! She said SIT not EAT! We were totally in the clear last week!"

"Oh My GOD!" Emma gagged and jumped backwards bumping into Aiden. She turned embarrassed and apologized awkwardly. Without thinking about anything other than the way he smiled at her dismissing her need for an apology, she quickly sat back down on the couch. The smile had apparently made her forget her brother and Layla's interlude that she was, not but seconds earlier, so aghast about.

"Sorry about the phone. I don't want to be rude, but that was the Kor Tant Yul." Aiden explained.

"The Kor Tant Yul? Really?" Layla asked impressed.

"The Cornish Mule?" Jimmy asked confused.

"Mules have phones? Mules can talk?" Emma asked equally confused looking to Jimmy for an answer.

"No you git! Layla spat. The Kor Tant Yul! The figure head of the Brotherhood of the Abgal Da. Basically, he's the man in charge!'

"And he's a mule?" Emma asked again.

Before Layla could further insult Emma, Aiden interrupted and continued his explanation. "Mr. Martin Kessler is the Kor Tant Yul and he is anxious to meet you. He was quite insistent that he fly out here immediately. But, I assured him that there would be no need for him to travel because I would have you on a plane within the hour headed for London. So, shall we? Or will I be made into a liar?" He smiled charmingly at the all too smitten Emma who had been mesmerized by his rich, song-like Irish accent.

Jimmy noticed Emma's hypnosis and nudged her to shock her back into reality. "So you want us to just drop everything and flit off to merry ole London, right? We are all just supposed to take everything you say on faith!"

Aiden straightened his back and cleared his throat. "And what would you be leaving behind Jimmy? A book shop that no one frequents, a potentially lucrative engineering career gone the way of the buffalo and a home that has seen more violence and blood than all of Arnold Schwarzenegger's films combined? Honestly, ask yourself why you stay here? Do you have any thing and ONE remaining here in this town to hold you?"

Jimmy and Emma looked at one another. Aiden had made an important point. There was no family left and they had pushed away the only friends they had ever had years ago. This was evident by their experience at the bar last night. Realizing that they had come to the same conclusions, Emma raised an eyebrow and gripped Jimmy's hand.

"He's right ya know. And it's not like we can't come back. We'll just shut things off and take a sabbatical or something."

Jimmy smiled. It was hard. This was the only home they had ever known as children and adults. Such a place to be filled with so many conflicting emotions; maybe that's why they stayed in a town they never really seemed to care if they were there in the first place. Plus, there was the fact that it seemed to be oddly overrun with vampires and no one else seemed to notice.

Layla clapped her hands and gripped Jimmy's shoulders tightly.

"Then it's settled!" Aiden rubbed his hands together and gestured to take Emma's. He aided her to stand motioned for her to go up the stairs. "Pack a bag or two if you like. I have a car out front that will take us to the airport. There are more than one or two people waiting for your arrival and I guarantee that at least one of them will be of interest to the both of you!"

The three made for the stairs and Layla excitedly squeezed Jimmy's hips. "Come on Jimbo hurry your cute arse up! London's calling! HA!"

As soon as they were up the stairs Aiden opened his cell phone once more and pressed a button. Automatically numbers dialed and a phone began to ring.

"Yes?" A woman answered quickly.

"It's done. The twins and Fellows are on the way to London. They look well. What are your instructions?"

"Just make sure they get to the London Motherhouse. I am in route myself. Tell them nothing! Only what they need to know. The rest isn't important for now. And of course, DON'T let them forget the family journals! I will see you soon." Her accent was a thick as his, and her tone was stern.

"Of course Mary Agnes." Aiden quickly closed the phone and slid it back into his pocket. He could hear the small group upstairs bustling to prepare for their journey.

"What's the weather like in London?" Emma exclaimed from her room.

"Naff!" Layla yelled back. "It's bloody cold and wet! Don't you watch the tele?"

"Yes, Merry old fecking England." Aiden scoffed. "I was getting tired of all of this sunshine anyway." With that he adjusted his leather jacket and ascended the stairs.


	11. Additons to London's Calling

Additions to Chapter Nine

Emma stood on the sidewalk outside of the book shop. The sign that read, "Hogan's Vault" swung in the wind as if waving. Her heart sank as she thought of the task at hand. The only time this shop had been closed for more than a day was when her parents died. It was this place that kept them going. Knowing that they were caring for their parents' legacy was a comfort and a privilege to them.

She closed her eyes and let the cool spring wind brush through her free flowing hair and waited for the moment when she knew she would be ready to do this. Suddenly, a hand came from behind her and squeezed her shoulder.

"You never will be." Jimmy said softly. "Neither of us ever will. But, we have to. If we don't go, we will both lose this gift forever and who knows what will happen to the crappy world we love so much!" He smirked.

Emma smiled through the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "This is it Jimmy. This store; this town. Everything we know is here; the last bits and pieces of our family. It's all here. In this town, people still remember mom, dad and Shea. They remember us as a whole family. Once we leave here, that's it. We'll just be Emma and Jimmy. This store, mom and dad's store; it's our anchor to them! When I'm in here I feel like I'm with them again. If we leave, we won't have that anymore." She forced her hands into her pockets and took a deep breath. Even though they constantly complained when they were younger about having to watch over this place, it meant the world to them.

She watched the people walk up and down the street. Coming and going in and out of stores. They walked in a variety of moods. Most of them trekked with bundles and bags, some with a litter of children dragging along at their hips. The coffee shop a few stores down was busy with its mid-morning crowd. Several patrons enjoyed their lattes and cappuccinos outside on the patio under vibrant umbrellas and discussed the troubles of their daily lives.

Emma knew every face in the crowded street. At one point or another in her life she had run across that person or family. She knew their names, where they worked or if they didn't. It was comforting this familiarity. The knowledge that you didn't have to go through the grueling process of "getting to know your surroundings" made it easier for her to come to that decision of going out and meeting new people. Now she would have to do that in a place where she truly knew no one!

"God Jimmy! Why does this have to suck to bad! I mean, I like it here!"

"No you don't." Jimmy corrected flatly. "Remember, old folks home?"

"I guess that's true."

"You're just comfortable here that's all. It's like graduating high school. You just got used to the place and then you have to leave! Everyone's scared to start college! Well, this is what this is. We finished high school, now we are packing for college! " Jimmy smiled and put his arm around her. "And it's not like this store is the only place where we can remember our family. The old saying goes, they live in our hearts and all."

"But people know us here! You know? They're gonna wonder where we went; what happened to us! I mean if we just up and leave, not knowing when we would be back, there could be some sort of missing persons investigation! Don't you think people would worry?" Emma saw a young man coming towards them and she smiled as he brushed passed. "Hey Scott." She greeted casually.

"Who the hell are you?" He answered gruffly and continued on walking.

Emma blinked in slight offense and shock as Jimmy walked towards the front door of the shop.

"See. They don't care. They never have. That's what makes this such a crap town. No body cares about anything that goes on outside their front door. And that not only includes the huge drug problem but also the constant vampire threat. If they don't ask questions then they don't have to be involved. Remember when Tommy Dickens died? Sixteen years old and star football player and they chalked it up to an animal attack! They didn't even try to name what kinda animal it was! That's why vamps like this place so much! So many useless people who 'don't want to rock the boat.'" He finished unlocking the door and opened it for Emma to enter first.

Emma stood for a moment and stared into the darkened doorway. She looked once more down the street towards the busy coffee shop and then down the other direction towards the rude young man that continued to walk away.

"Come on Emma. Let's get this over with." Jimmy coaxed.

Emma started for the door and then stopped abruptly. "Hold on." She then turned towards the young man and then yelled after him. "Hey Scott!" The young man stopped and turned back towards Emma. "Guess what, I'm moving to London!"

"So what!" He yelled.

"So… you'll still be here… looking like a ball sack!" She flashed her middle finger and then quickly walked into the book shop.

"Nice. Very clever." Jimmy teased. "Feel better?"

"Little bit. Put the sign up and let's go."

Shaking his head, Jimmy turned to the large store front window and hung a sign that read: "CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE".


	12. Things You Do On a Plane

**Chapter Ten**

**Things You Do on a Plane**

They had been on the jet for hours. Emma had tried to sleep at one point, but it was useless. She had been hoping to have another dream where she could speak with the sentinel spirit of the Ba Musal, but, like the previous weeks, there was nothing. There was only the vast, black void of slumber. She had scolded herself that that should have been a sign right there; that the conduit was cut somehow. These things were always so unpredictable already, how was she to know when it was truly a crisis? _"Because it's always a crisis!" _She thought to herself.

The plane jumped and jerked abruptly and Emma quickly grabbed the armrests of her seat. Looking out of her small oval window, she could see mounds of rolling clouds looking like soft, new fallen snow. The sun was setting just off in the distance and the light danced beautifully in a prism of orange, peach, pink and red all along the clouds. A smile gently washed over Emma's face and she thought for just a moment that this flying thing wasn't so bad after all. Then the plane jerked again and her paranoia returned.

"Don't tell me this is your first flight?" The lyrical voice of Aiden rolled into Emma's ear and warmed her blood like sunshine. She turned away from the sunset and slowly looked up to his brilliant green eyes and smiled awkwardly. "You have heard that you are actually safer up here than on the ground?"

"Tell that to all the people who were in plane crashes." She cleared her throat and listened as the pilot informed the four passengers that they would be experiencing some turbulence from a storm they were attempting to fly through.

"So really you've never flown before?" He asked as he took the seat next to her.

"We never really went anywhere where we would need to fly." Emma shifted in her seat trying to make the bulge her stomach made when she sat down less apparent.

"Bollocks! You never went anywhere outside of that tiny shite town?" Aiden prodded in disbelief.

"Well, we would go to St. Louis a lot. And then there was the time we went to Jeff City." Emma defended.

"You poor little culchie!" Aiden teased. He chuckled slightly and removed his jacket throwing it on the seat infront of them.

"Hey! I get enough of that 'I don't Understand what name you are calling me but I'm sure it's not any good' crap from Layla. I don't need another smartass picking on me in some crazy British slang I don't understand. I don't care how cute you are!" Emma poked him in the shoulder and turned to look back out the window. She could feel her face heat up when she realized what she had just admitted too! She hoped that he hadn't caught it.

Aiden laughed and rubbed his shoulder when her finger had jabbed him. "Hey! First of all, I'm Irish. And many an Irishman would take great offense to the 'British slang' remark. And I wasn't picking on you! It's just a term for someone who lives in the country. And lastly, did you just say I was cute?" He asked her teasingly.

Emma's face felt as if it were on fire! How would she recover from that? She turned quickly to face him and relaxed her tightened face. "How much longer before we land?" She asked shifting off of the subject.

"It shouldn't be but and hour or so now. These jets are pretty fast." He cleared his throat obliging Emma's obvious desire to not pursue that particular topic at the time. "So speaking of being Irish, you and your brother are equally blessed yeah" He smiled charmingly at her in an attempt to put her at ease.

"Well yeah… Hogan. Isn't exactly Chinese! But you knew that. You knew that my parents were members of the Brotherhood."

"Just trying to make conversation love. I wanted to take your mind off of the flight. You have plenty enough to think about as it is." He smiled halfway showing his own distress.

"How much do you know?" Emma squared her eyes and searched for a glimmer of an indicator that there was more behind those fabulous eyes of his.

Without blinking or taking a breath he began. "I know that you're angry. I know that you don't trust the Brotherhood, and for good reason. I know that your parents found a way to hide you from us, and I am sure they had good reasons too. You have been through a lot for a reincarnated warrior goddess let alone any normal person. I know that all of what you have dealt with has given you a great deal of pain. But, I also know that it has given you an even greater amount of strength, courage and resolve."

Emma smiled at his insightful and evocative words. He made her sound so inspiring; so heroic. But her soft smile slowly faded as the twinge in her heart heralded the coming of her inner voice. _"Yes, indulge in the kind words of people who don't know any better! How conceited you are! How dare you agree with the things he says about you! You're no hero! Not even close! What strength do you have? You still feel like crying when you put on a skirt! Such weakness! You can't hide that from anyone! What makes you think he could really want you for anything other than a quick lay?"_

"You wouldn't be so nice if you knew what I was really like." She said meekly looking away from his intense gaze.

"I'd like to find out." He cooed.

She could feel the blush rise in her cheeks. His words stirred her inside and she wished she could just jump into his lap and cover every inch of his skin with her willing lips. But, realizing that it wasn't an exactly rational reaction, she bit her bottom lip and smiled shyly. "You got anything to drink on this thing?" Emma asked coyly.

"I thought you would never ask!" Aiden jumped from his seat and opened the small refrigerator on the opposite side of the plane. "I have two pints of the black stuff waiting right here with our names on them!"

Unlike his twin sister, Jimmy Hogan had been sleeping through the entire flight! He had commented over and over again on the comfort of the jet; about how most planes offered little more than movie theater seats to their passengers, but these large, posh recliners folded out completely flat! After finding a large pillow and blue blanket under the seat, Jimmy, ignoring Layla's protests for him to stay awake and talk to her, curled up like a baby, the world fell away and he drifted off into the dizzying emptiness of deep slumber.

It wasn't long before his dreams began to take over. The world around him began to emerge like the rising lights of the theater. He suddenly found himself standing stage left, applauding for an emotional Emma who stood waving wearing a crown, holding roses and wearing a sash that said "Our Hero". He smiled and clapped along with enormous crowd shouting, "Bravo!", "Way to go!" and "Thanks for not letting me die!"

As the crowd cheered on, a low crunching began to rise to Jimmy's ear and cause him to turn to look. He squinted passed the rest of the stage crew and saw, just behind a clothes rack, two morbidly fat, bald men in suits standing at an open refrigerator. Like rapid wolves they pulled out the food and stuffed it into their greedy mouths. Over and over again without ceasing, the munched and chewed and ripped at anything they could get from the refrigerator. Jimmy tapped Layla, who had been standing next to him, on the shoulder.

"Who are those guys? Don't they know they are eating everything?" Jimmy asked her with deep concern in his voice. The men had moved onto the freezer and were eating handfuls of strawberry ice cream now.

"Oh them, they own the place. They're just making sure that we don't eat their ice cream." And then Layla turned back to the stage and continued to cheer.

As Jimmy turned to resume in the same manner, the people behind him began pushing and shoving Jimmy chanting for him to go out there. He dug his heels into the ground and voiced his protest. "NO! I can't! I'm not allowed! It's a pageant for girls, I'm a boy! I'm not supposed to!"

He continued to object, as he reached out for a handful of the stage curtain. It seemed that nothing would keep them from pushing him out on to the stage. Within a minute there he was standing next to Emma with his own crown, roses and sash.

Suddenly everything around him began to flash red and loud blaring alarm blasted repeatedly over the cheering crowd. Jimmy looked around confused. "What kind of beauty pageant is this?" He asked out loud. "I didn't even get to sing 'Wind Beneath My Wings!'" As the words "Game Over" flashed in front of his vision in bold, bright red letters, the floor fell out from under him and he fell for what felt like an eternity into a total black void.

As quickly as he had begun to fall, his sandaled feet found the ground with a thud. The scene around him exploded into a world of light and noise. Dust had kicked up around him and he squinted to shield his eyes form the light of the sun shining brightly down. He felt a whooshing and quickly raised his large sword in front of his face in time to deflect another. He pushed the sword back and continued to defend himself by swinging the large weapon from side to side. His sandaled feet shifted forward and back as he fell into the dance-like rhythms of the battle.

Other leather clad men surrounded him. Some were fighting each other, others were coming for him. He ducked and jumped and swung his sword doing all that he could by second nature to keep himself alive. Jimmy gripped his sword tight as he jabbed and thrusted dropping bloody men to the dust at his feet.

The sound of the clanging swords and battle cries were deafening. But, Jimmy found no difficultly in concentrating on defeating his enemies. With a leap and a smooth slash, his opponent's head flew from its shoulders and then rolled in the dirt clotting the blood from his neck and face.

This world was a whirlwind of battle and blood and Jimmy seemed to be its master. He fought through every enemy as easily as navigating a populated dance floor. As he laid waste to yet another unlucky opponent a women emerge seemingly untouched by the filth and blood. Nothing seemed to touch her flowing white gown, and nothing seemed to stir her long white tresses and she made her way through the warring mob towards Jimmy. Her smooth white skin emanated its own light as she walked around him; studying him.

"Tell me James," Her voice was no more than a whisper, but rose above the din of the mob, "What are you doing?" Her voice was sweet and heartfelt. She stood in front of him and looked with concern awaiting the answer.

"I'm defending the city!" He proclaimed as he continued his battle.

"Why? Isn't there someone else who's supposed to be doing this?" She walked around him once more and stood to his left.

"No, there is only me." He fought on laying waste to those in his path. He could see know that he was making his way to a large gate that was barely visible through the dust and men.

"And what do you think lies beyond that gate? Power, glory?" She asked as she pointed towards the large intimidating gate inset the great stone walls.

"Knowledge." He stated flatly. "The truth." He ran up and ran his sword through more men and they dropped to the ground. Jimmy wiped the sweat and blood form his face as the woman began to gag. Jimmy stopped and turned abruptly to face her and offer her aide as she was dropping to her knees. The sky darkened and a storm thundered in.

"Jimmy, you are far more than what they say. You are more than what you think. I need your help! I cannot hold on much longer! It's up to you! If you don't help me then they will die!" The wind picked up and blew away the dust to reveal hundreds of dead women lying on the ground. "And then he will go on to the rest of humanity. But it will start with her." She pointed her finger to a dark head woman lying bleeding on the ground.

"No no no no NO!" Jimmy cried out as he reached her side. It was his sister, her skin pale as the life had drained from her. He ran back to the woman and knelt with her. "You are the Sentinel Spirit right? Why can't you do something…? Warn them!"

"Because they can't hear me anymore! Too many have been taken already! My connection is weak! But they don't know about you Jimmy! They don't know that it all lies within you!" She wrapped her arms around her chest and held tight as if it would actually hold her to this place and keep her from fading.

Jimmy held her too, he needed to know. "What can I do? What do you want me to do?"

She began to lie down and fade. Her voice became distant and her light dimmed. "You must be the balance." And then she was gone.

"Be the balance? What does that mean? Why can't you just tell me specifically what I am supposed to do?" He stood and yelled towards the thundering sky.

"I want you to take me into the loo and take my clothes off!"

Jimmy awoke with a start and stared into the face of Layla. "Huh!"

"Haven't you heard of the mile high club? I want to 'join' it!" She snapped making her fingers as air quotes aside her head.

Jimmy rubbed his face as he finished waking from his dream. "No, I know what that is. I was just having this dream, and … Never mind."

"What was it about?" Layla rubbed his head and genuinely looked concern for a moment.

"I don't know, I think I've been watching _Star Wars_ too much lately." Jimmy jumped when he felt Layla's hand reached down into the front of his pants and grab hold of his manhood.

"We can talk about that later… For now, I am going to hold onto this and walk into the loo. If you want to see what I am going to do to it, then I suggest you follow." She whispered into his ear licking and nibbling on its lobe when she was finished.

They looked down as Jimmy's lust stirred. "Well, he obviously agrees with you. And there's no arguing with him! So … Let's go!" And with that the couple leapt from their seats and headed for the tiny bathroom in the back.

Emma jumped and turned towards the bathroom in the back of the jet. For several minutes a series of loud bangs and knocks had been coming from back there. "What in the hell is going on back there?" She looked around the cabin and noticed that Jimmy and Layla were missing. "Oh that's just gross." She muttered to herself with a grimace on her face.

"What was that?" Aiden asked her as he returned with another set of Guinness.

"Oh nothing. So you were saying about your parents?" Emma skirted from the subject and took the bottle from Aiden's large and masculine hands.

"Well, they were simple, God-fearing people. They really didn't understand what was going on with me. I can't say that I really blame them for what they did. They did what they could and I believe my life was better for it! I would have never learned about my abilities or even how to use them if they hadn't sent me to the orphanage allowing a Brother to find me."

"Yeah, but, don't you miss your family?" Emma asked with care in her voice.

"Of course I do from time to time, but really, my family now is the Brotherhood. Going to the Dublin house is like going to visit my parents."

Another loud thud came from the bathroom and the two jerked around to look. They looked back at each other uncomfortably both know full well what was taking place in that tiny closet-like room. Suddenly the plane to jerked, catching Emma off guard holding her ale loosely. The bottle tipped pouring the black liquid out of its mouths. Emma groaned in aggravation with her clumsiness. But, just as the bitter beverage was about to splash all over her jeans, it stopped in mid air! She gasped and looked up at Aiden. He was holding his hand out and licking his top lip with his tongue. As he pulled his hand back the liquid followed and found its way back into the bottle in Emma's hand.

"That, was, amazing!" She stammered. "I mean thank you! I have never seen anything like that before!"

"Liquids are a bit harder to control; they tend to want to go everywhere at once! And besides, I couldn't stand to see good Guinness go to waste!" He smiled charmingly and locked eyes with her. She of course blushed and looked away out of the window to her left.

The once field of sparkling blue was now replaced with fields of green, brown and orange. "Hey look! Land! Is that London down there?"

"Gor Blimey no! If it was London you wouldn't be able to see through the fog and smog!"

The door to the bathroom opened and Layla and Jimmy practically fell out. Layla fussed with straightening her hair and Jimmy sat behind Emma. "So are we close?"

"We'll be landing shortly. If you'll excuse me I need to make a call." Aiden rose form his seat and walked towards the front of the cabin while opening his small silver cell phone.

Emma smiled back at him as he walked away.

"I don't trust him." Jimmy stated while looking out the window.

"Of course you don't. I happen to think he's mildly attractive, so obviously you wouldn't approve." Emma rolled her eyes and pushed her brother's shoulder.

"That has nothing to do with it. He's always on that phone and he has to walk away to use it. What's he talking about that's so secret."

"Oh please! You're just nosy! He's probably just trying to be polite by taking his phone conversation to where it won't intrude!" Emma looked back at Aiden and smile to which he returned the gesture. "He's very thoughtful really."

"I'm getting the car now. I'll see you in twenty minutes!" Mary Agnes hung up the phone and waved for the chauffeur to bring the long black car around the circle drive to her. She brushed the skirt of her maroon suit and primped her well coiffed white hair. As the chauffeur opened the door for her to enter she pulled the small green compact from her purse and looked into its mirror. Her 1940's style curls were flawless and her burgundy lipstick was perfect and without a smudge.

"Heathrow Airport Geoffrey." She instructed.

"You look lovely as always." Martin Kessler had already been seated in the car when Mary had entered.

"Why thank you Martin." She said as she replaced the compact into her purse and then retrieved a small wallet size photo from its zipper pouch. She ran her fingers over its frayed edges gently and kissed is softly so that no lipstick tainted its image. She pulled it back and looked lovingly at the photo of a young Jonathan Hogan; Emma and Jimmy's father.

"You will allow me to speak with them about this situation at hand before you tell them, won't you?" Martin asked gently as he leaned forward in the black leather seat to better catch Mary's eyes.

"Of course Martin. This isn't a social visit. Down to business first and foremost." She spoke softly without looking up form the photo.

"Thank you Mrs. Hogan. And I am sure they will be most happy to hear that they have family around after all."


	13. London and Acacius

**Chapter Eleven**

**London and Acacius**

After the jet bounced to a halt, the attendant arrived to open the cabin door. Once the stairs were in place the small group of passengers was allowed to disembark. Aiden carried Emma's things first down the stairs for her and set them by the long black limo awaiting them. She stood at the top of the stairs scanned her surroundings with curious eyes. Rain drizzled down like mist on the small private tarmac. It was virtually empty save for them, a couple more jets and a handful of small hangers through which the main terminal was plainly visible. Emma looked towards the sky and saw what Aiden had been speaking of earlier. A think veil of grey covered the darkening purple sky and nearly blocked the sun's dimming light. "So this is London. Lovely." She shuddered from the murky, cool weather and quickly threw her corduroy jacket on. Feeling Layla nudge her impatiently, she finally descended the stairs and greeted the people waiting there.

Aiden had already met them at the car and was fervently shaking hands and kissing cheeks. She knew who the man was. Aiden had mentioned he would be here to pick them up. So, he must have been Martin Kessler the Kor Tan Yul of the Brotherhood. If it weren't for his gentle and kind clear blue eyes, he would almost look intimidating in his double breasted grey suit. The salt and pepper coloring of his wavy well groomed hair gave him an air of sophistication and dignity that might have otherwise have been lost from those soft eyes of his. Next to him kissing Aiden's cheek was an older woman with the most beautiful white hair. Emma thought that she looked like a movie star from the 1940's with her hair done so perfectly like that! It brushed just the tops of her shoulders and blew ever so gently in the evening breeze. The tiny droplets of rain never even seemed to touch her seemingly glowing tresses. She was so poised and graceful; Emma felt like a complete slob with she in her faded jeans and black _Ac- Dc _t-shirt. Everything about the woman was utterly flawless; from her perfectly arched eyebrows, down to her elegant maroon stiletto heels with the severe toe. _"How odd for a woman than age to wear shoes like that. I would think shoes like that would be out of the question." _Emma thought to herself. The woman exuded class! And as Emma neared her she noted the warm and inviting smell of her perfume that emanated from her even in the thick misty air. She couldn't tell from where, but there was this odd sense of familiarity about the lovely woman that she couldn't quite shake.

"It's good to see you again boyo! How was the flight?" The woman patted his back as she kissed his other cheek. Her rich lyrical accent gave Emma the realization that this woman was Irish too. _"Maybe this is the woman that took him in!" _

As Jimmy and Layla joined Emma at her sides, Martin Kessler approached the three first. "Hello dear lady. My name is Martin Kessler. I am the Kor Tant Yul, or 'Elected One' of the Brotherhood of the Abgal Da. Welcome to England! I cannot tell you how sorry I am that we have met under these circumstances, but, I am happy you are here none the less. I am sure that you have quite a few questions; as do we I assure you! But for now, let us get into the car and off to warmer and more comfortable surroundings! Shall we?" He gestured for them to enter the car and he shook hands with Jimmy and then Layla as well. "Ms. Fellows. It's lovely to see you again. Did we have a pleasant sabbatical?"

Layla looked up awkwardly and smiled. "Quite. Sir, I would ask if there has been any word as per the whereabouts of Mr. Finch."

Kessler laid a hand on Layla's shoulder and patted her gently. "Not as of late. I'm sorry. We will continue to search of course. But in the mean time, I have a few questions for you as well." He looked at her sternly and then ushered her into the car.

In the car Emma nudged Jimmy and suggested with her eyes towards the woman. "I know." He mumbled. "But, I don't know where we would have seen her before." The woman smiled at the two from across the car as sped off for the Industry Estate.

Meanwhile, Elsewhere in the World

The Sanctus Unus stood infront of the large altar in the sandstone temple infront of hundreds of Faithful. He spoke with passion and his charismatic presence was undeniable. Every word that rolled from his silver tongue won every ear among the crowd. Not an eye blinked or turned away from the magnetic deity.

"My devoted ones, I come to you this day with mournful reports. I am afraid that your lost comrades have in fact been slain."

Several moans and gasps arose from the crowd and were quickly silenced by the Sanctus Unus simply raising one of his large alabaster hands from his side.

"It appears that while attempting to retrieve the Holy Essence from a shell, the filthy carcass had the audacity to attack them!" He began to raise his voice to carry it over the crowd's reactions. "And it seems that she had some help from another unbeliever and your blasphemous Brothers sent one of their whores to watch over this shell. This small insignificant rabble dispatched our beloved fellow Faithful without remorse or mercy!"

The crowd began to call out for vengeance and justice. Once again The Sanctus Unus raised his hand and the crowd fell silent.

"My dearest devoted, please do not waste your energies upon this sadness at this moment! Instead, we must channel it towards completing our goal! That is what our fellow fallen would want of us! Don't make their sacrifices be in vain! Our revenge will be retrieving those shells sequestered away and bringing forth once more our glorious Goddess!"

The followers erupted into cheers and applause at the climax of his monologue. His hand once more calmed the sea of chants allowing him to continue. He closed his eyes and held his throat in a gesture to emphasize his emotions building.

"I cannot tell you what it was like so many thousand years ago, when she first graced this Earth. I was new to the dark curse and still clung fervently to my beautiful and loving widow, Darnasia. Even the undead have conventions, and visiting those from your former life was forbidden. Unless ofcourse you have intentions otherwise noble. I had visited our bed on many a night to lie with her. Darnasia and her golden hair." He mused as he continued his speech. "It became clear to me not weeks after our initial coupling after my re-birth that her belly had begun to swell! She whispered to me under the glowing moonlight among the vineyard that she was with child! I, I was aghast! I was elated! I was going to be a father! How could that be? An undead one and mortal woman conceiving a child! And I cannot tell you children, how it was when that beautiful and uncanny child was born! She walked as if she floated. Her precious feet never seemed to touch the ground! Her skin was as alabaster and satin, her hair was a sure spun golden silk! And when she touched you, you were blessed for an age! This world knew peace, and love and beauty when she was here! My lovely daughter. Savior of the world." He clenched his fists as he choked on his words and he changed his tone.

"And those blasphemous bastards stole her spirit and shoved it into the filthy shells of un-worthy mortals who flaunt her glory and exploit her power! WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE! WE WILL HAVE OUR REVENGE IN HER RE-BIRTH! WE WILL HAVE OUR RECKONING IN MY DAUGHTER'S REWAKENING! IT IS TIME FOR THE FAITHFUL TO BE REWARDED AND THE NON-BELIEVERS BE PLUCKED LIKE A THORN IN THEIR SIDES! WILL YOU CHANNEL YOUR ANGER FROM YOUR BROTHERS WHO WERE STOLEN FROM YOU LIKE THEY STOLE MY DAUGHTER? WILL YOU STAND WITH ME?"

The crowd roared in euphoric and determined agreement. They cheered until their throats could no longer stand the pain and until their lungs empty. The entire cavern seemed to tremble at the uproarious horde. They chanted "justice" over and over again with clenched fists and gritted teeth. The Sanctus Unus smiled through tear filled eyes as his magnetism continued to captivate the multitude of followers. Yet again he raised a firm white hand to the chanting crowd.

"Fear not children. Loyal, deserving children! Our time is close at hand. Do not fret over those scandalous and manipulative Brothers that stole those filthy shells from our grasp. Do not be so quick to mourn and call this a loss. As we speak, dozens of out fellow Faithful are sited at Motherhouses throughout the world! Through their courageous efforts and talented espionage, we will know their every move. We will find every shell and scrape that precious, miss-given gift straight from their rotten skulls! We WILL flaunt the Brothers' weaknesses and strike when the time has presented itself! My devoted ones, there is no greater virtue than patience! And we will show them what great patience we have demonstrated these many, many centuries as we tear down their houses and take back what is rightfully ours!"

Again the cavern was a world of chaotic applause and cheer. He bowed before them like a monarch acknowledging his peasants. He lifted his many robes like a roman senator and waited as the applause died down.

"Thank you for joining together once again. It is always a pleasure and a joy to see so many Faithful faces! Don't forget that next Thursday is the pot-luck; Adrian, don't think that you can get away without bringing that phenomenal lasagna of yours! Please feel free to help yourselves to the buffet and punch back there. This evening's delectables were prepared by the lovely Saundra. So please remember to thank her before you go! Hi Saundra! Be blessed everyone and remember, patience! Mostcaciolli and cake now; vengeance later!"

As the crowd dispersed and made a line for the buffet tables towards the back of the temple, he turned and gestured for a man standing near him to follow. They entered through the wooden door behind the massive altar into the Sanctus Unus' personal chambers. They walked immediately to the back room where the young woman was kept. She had been given a clean, white linen sack dress to wear and a plusher mattress; but she was still restrained. The Sanctus Unus greeted her as if a happy husband were returning home as the man who followed remained in the doorway.

"Darling! How are we feeling today?" He stood beside her and ran his cold hand over her abdomen. "Ah! We have grown some! I told you this would be quick! You won't have to bother with all of that impatience and anxiously awaiting the baby's arrival like most pregnant mothers! Yes! She is coming along nicely in your cozy womb! And I must say you look absolutely lovely! You are positively glowing!" He ran his finger up her leg and across her cheek.

Flashes of his many sadistic violations bombarded her fragile mind. She could once again feel him thumbs pressing into her thighs as he held her legs up and forced himself into her again and again. The pain from the memory alone was almost too much to bear. The violent sickness in her middle began to rise again and she found herself choking and shaking her head to loosen her gag if only to move it a hair.

"What is it my darling?" The Sanctus Unus cooed as he gently removed the tightly wound linen from her mouth. Immediately the corners of her lips relaxed and she could once more move them freely. It took her a moment to regain her ability to speak again only for the foul fluid in her throat to come roaring out of her mouth and spill with a splash onto the stones below.

"Yes, they say morning sickness is really just a name. It can come at anytime of the day, or night for that matter." He patted her forehead as he lightly dabbed the curdled yellow liquid from her chin. "If there is anything I can do to ease the…"

"Smell…" She rasped.

"What darling?"

"The smell. Please, they smell so bad!" She began to choke and then cough up more of her putrid vomit.

He turned around and looked at the far wall of the cell. There, loosely covered by old tattered sheets, were three bodies of her predecessors. Their badly beaten, bruised, and decomposing corpses made it obvious that they had lain there neglected for some time. Their sour odor had tormented the young captive ever since they brought her to this filthy cell.

"Ah yes. I had almost forgotten how hard it was to find the right one. You should feel privileged that you were chosen to be The Carina! The Holy Vessel! The mother of the Goddess! Don't worry, about them anymore." He turned and faced the squinty eyed assistant that lingered in the doorway. "Deslin! Go and retrieve a couple of your fellow Faithful to assist you in disposing of these carcasses. And when you are finished, make sure The Carina eats something. Our Goddess needs nutrients to grow!" He leaned forward and kissed her clammy forehead before her bowed and exited the room.

He removed his deep indigo robe and handed it to his assistant that followed close behind him. The assistant immediately turned and hung it carefully in the large oak wardrobe near the door.

The Sanctus Unus pinched the bridge of his nose and gazed at his reflection in the mirror. His pale face was becoming even gaunter than it was before. "My word Deslin, I had no idea that I had any color left in my face to lose! I believe it is time that I have a spot to eat. Do me a favor and fetch for me my evening meal?"

The brown haired man bowed his head and exited through a door to his left. The Sanctus Unus removed his black tunic and stretched his arms wearily. He padded across the Oriental rug to his simple desk where his scrolls still laid. He smiled as he lovingly ran his index finger over the elegant calligraphy. He loved the texture of the ancient ink that still miraculously seemed to bubble up from the yellowed parchment. He loved words. He loved reading them; writing them; speaking them. He loved the way it felt when those marvels of communication rolled off of his tongue and through his lips. It gave him such great joy that his many years of life have given him such an eloquent and well-versed vocabulary. He relished the fact that his many years of practiced articulation gave him power over others. It wasn't that he was significantly more intelligent than mortal men or even other vampires; the versed vampire knew exactly how to weave his words to intimidate the most savage of beasts. It was just a matter of convincing them that what he wanted was their desire as well.

"A few pretty words are all anyone needs to hear to follow a blind man off a cliff." He mused to himself. This was not a recent revelation. It wasn't even isolated to his vampiric life. It was a lesson first taught to him by his father. As a well respected Grecian senator, he was known for his eloquent and passionate speeches. Many citizens would travel from all over Greece to hear the great Acaeus do his best to marvel and persuade the crowd. When he spoke, the words seemed to drip from his mouth and spill out over those listening like a wave of influence. It was a talent that not only won his interests many votes, but also, for himself, many lovers.

"You can have any woman that graces this earth, even Aphrodite herself my son! All you have to do is whisper the right words into her ear, and she will do anything just to hear more!" His father had shared with him one night when he was very young.

The Sanctus Unus closed his eyes as he lingered on that memory. Suddenly he was startled out of his revelry by the clack of a closing door. He looked up and shook his head and chuckled at himself when he realized that it was only Deslin doing what he was asked.

Deslin dragged behind him a bound portly man in a tattered and dirty tweed suit. His thinning grey hair was covered in a sheen of nervous sweat and his face was flushed bright red. The Sanctus Unus nodded acknowledging Deslin's silent request to remove the gag.

"Acacius!" The man spat disgustedly.

The Sanctus Unus grinned as he was impressed by the man's deduction. "I see that the Brotherhood's reputation is well earned! You must have been quite studious to have known about me."

"An infant in the Brotherhood would know about you! The con man of vampires! Your not satisfied with feasting on mortals, you have to make them love you for it as well! Like a bloody pied piper!"

Deslin's rage from the man's accusations could no longer be contained. He yelled for the man to be silent as he turned to face him and struck him across the face with the back of his hand so hard that he fell backwards to the floor.

"Help him back up Deslin." Acacius instructed calmly.

Deslin looked at him with surprise and protest. "How dare he insult you that way! You are The Father! He is an unbeliever! He shouldn't even be allowed to speak to you let alone such lies!"

Acacius stepped forward and laid a cold and heavy hand on Deslin's shoulder. "That is why he is here my loyal servant. We won't let the horrors he speaks affect us since we know that they are untrue. His disbelief sealed his fate long ago which is why he lies bound on my floor. Now please, help him back up."

Deslin obliged and knelt to the floor. He grabbed the man's blazer and tilted him upwards.

"Now, be about your business. Select some of your comrades and remove the garbage from the Carina's chamber. Then, come back her in an hour and I will have some for you as well."

Deslin bowed respectfully and left his master's presence.

"Now Mr. Finch. I'm curious. About a couple of things actually. For one, what all does the Brotherhood know about my Faithful here and me?"

Howard Finch smirked at the question and spat at his feet. "Do you really think that you could pull something like this off without the Brotherhood of the Abgal Da knowing your every move? The journals hardly do you justice sir! You are more arrogant than they portray!"

"Oh Howard. I don't think so." Acacius squatted down on his haunches and leaned forward until he was practically nose to nose with the shaken head of the Indiana House. "You see, if they did know, then why are you still here on my floor? Why hasn't an army of magicians and warrior girls come charging through those doors? And for that matter, why did they allow so many of those girls and women to die? Because, they DON'T know where you are! They DON'T know where I am, and THEY DON'T KNOW about The Faithful! Your little club is completely unaware that they are about to become a very extinct culture!"

Howard shuttered at the feline Vampire's revelations. But, he did his best to hide it from him. He couldn't allow him to continue on with the notion that he was untouchable. He had to find a way to put some fear in him. "This will never work Acacius. You will have to search hundreds of women before you find one compatible to carry your seed."

"Only dozens really."

Horror overtook Howard Finch's face.

"Were you not listening earlier? Aren't you people supposed to be psychics and the like? Warrior Priests and Warlocks and blah blah blah! I've already found a compatible woman and she lies, PREGNANT, in that room over there!" He laughed as he pointed across the chamber to locked wooden door.

Howard shuddered and the sweat began to pour from his forehead and then drip from his nose. He could feel his blood run cold. What could he do now?

"It did take quit a while, I will tell you that. But, I'm not going to say it wasn't any fun! HA! Some of them really put up a fight! I didn't even tie the first twenty or so up it was so much fun. But after awhile, holding them down for so long became so exhausting that I couldn't finish. And what was the point in trying to impregnate the woman if I couldn't plant the seed? So that's when we started tying them to the cots. It wasn't as arousing as when they were kicking and punching me, but I managed. And eventually my patience and persistence paid off and we found the right one. Soon, the Dhampir will be born and it will have all been worth it!"

Howard was sickened and infuriated by Acacius' admissions. "And what do you think your precious 'Faithful' will do once they find out that you really aren't 'The Father' of the first Ba Musal and just a pathetic imposter planning on stealing the Dhampir spirit for yourself? Do you really think you can keep this masquerade up that long? Do you really think that they will let you live once they find you out?"

The vampire just smiled and sat down Indian style infront of the obviously nervous man. "It's not what I think old man. It's what they believe!" He said as he gestured to the door that led to the temple. "Be fearful of a true believer!" He laughed as he patted Howard's knee.

"Now about the other thing. Tell me about the little witch you were visiting and her Ba Musal friend. How did they dispatch my men so quickly and where did they disappear to?"

Howard smiled. That meant that Layla and the twins were alive. This was the fear he was looking for. Even though he knew his life was about to end, he would go gladly knowing that Layla was safe. And that through her, the Brotherhood would have all that it needed to find this monster and stop his plan from unraveling further. "Oh Acacius. You failed in killing them? You will never finish this now! That girl knows EVERYTHING! And there is only one place she could have gone! Now the Brotherhood really knows all about your plans and this whole charade is about to come crashing down on your head!" Howard laughed in the face of the fast angering Acacius. "You want to know what it is that I do Acacius? Do you want to know what my special ability is? They have a nickname for me. The projector. Everything that you have told me; I can send all of that to that girl! And she will share it with all of the Brotherhood!" Howard continued to laugh.

"Not if I kill you first!" Acacius growled as grabbed Howard by the throat and bared his fangs.

"Too late! Whether you kill me or not now doesn't matter! I've already done it!"

With that, Acacius yanked him forward and sunk his teeth into his jugular with a hard crunch. The thick sweet nectar or Howard's life blood flowed into his mouth at such speed that Acacius had to gulp with each draught. As he drank hungrily, he squeezed Howard's arms so tightly in his hands that the bones snapped and Howard screamed in agony. Finally, as his heart slowed, so did the flow of blood until Acacius had drained him to his last drop. He let the empty broken body of Howard Finch fall lifeless to the stones and Acacius stood wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He faced the mirror licking the back of his hand, and watched as his the color began to return to his slowly ripening body. He turned from side to side and flexed his chest and biceps.

"That's better." He marveled. "Now, to find out this girl's name and where she and her friends are hiding."


	14. How to Deal With Awkward Moments

**Chapter Twelve**

**How to Deal With**

**Awkward Moments**

Emma sat in Martin Kessler's office slowly sipping her Earl Grey tea with lemon and honey. She lounged back on the large leather sofa with her hands wrapped around the hot china cup as she blew the steam off of the top for her next sip. The dizziness had returned shortly after her arrival and she had never thought to be so grateful for English hospitality.

As she lowered the delicate cup from her lip, Martin had slid a plate of tea cookies in front of her on the table. "Biscuit?" He offered quietly.

"No thanks." Emma waved off his offer before opening her eyes. As she did open them, she noticed the plate of cookies and helped herself. "Oooo cookies!" Martin smiled and gave her a napkin. "This is great, thank you. You know, I had you Brits all pegged wrong. You should be thankful that Layla isn't an ambassador or anything."

Virginia had been hovering about her ever since she was ushered in feeling faint. She had insisted upon staying at Emma's side with a cool rag and a fan. Emma had spent the better part of a half an hour doing her best to dismiss the unneeded nurse but to no avail.

"Thank you, I'm fine really. I really don't need anymore washcloths on my body." Emma protested while pulling rags off of the back of her neck head and finally one from under her bottom.

"Oh dear your not thinking clearly! Just a couple of more cool rags and you will be right as rain!" Virginia assured while dabbing Emma's forehead.

"I know we're in England and you guys tend speak a different version of it, but, does this woman not speak English?" A frustrated Emma asked her hosts.

Martin rolled his eyes rubbed his tired face. "She speaks it all right she just doesn't bloody understand it! VIRGINIA! The girl wants to be left alone now. Thank you, you may go."

Virginia smiled and gathered her rags. "Alright then dear. If there is anything you need you just give a shout for me, or ring me on the phone and I'll be right there!" With that she had bustled off for the large oak doors.

Emma glanced over at her twin who had been lying on the loveseat opposite to them with his feet up and one of Virginia's cool rags on his forehead. He had vomited twice since they stepped off of the jet. Once when they were driving; luckily the driver had pulled over in time, and secondly when entered the large lobby of the Motherhouse. Virginia had been thoughtful enough to place a waste basket next to him, just incase.

Emma set her cup down on it's saucer on the table and wiped the left over moisture from her forehead. "So let me get this straight, the Ba Musal was actually the child of a Vampire and a mortal woman, and this is a fact that has been kept secret for thousands of years. Why?"

"For the same reason The Faithful don't believe that you should be blessed with her spirit. The ancient elders believed that something as holy as she could not be tainted with such a history." Mary Agnes answered.

"I get it sort of the out of sight out of mind theory." Emma mused while stuffing another cookie into her mouth. "So why now? What exactly are they doing?"

"We believe that they are attempting to create a new Ba Musal. We don't really know how or where as of yet, but we will find out." Martin cleared his throat, rose from his seat and began to pace the room.

"How do you plan on finding all of this out? The Faithful weren't even considered "real" until recently. Where would you even know where to begin to look?" Layla blurted rising from her seat near Jimmy. "You didn't even know about the Hogan's before yesterday and you can't even find Howard!"

Martin had had quite enough of Layla at this point and turned abruptly to face her. "If you don't mind Ms. Fellows. I refuse to take censure from a little girl who runs away from home! Now, if you don't have anything helpful to add, then I would ask if you would kindly sit down and shut up!" Layla took a humbled step back and seated herself on the large wing backed chair against the wall.

"As our Aiden here as certainly told you, it has been his job to collect all of our incarnates through out the world and bring them back here so that we may protect them. And also so that we may find The Faithful and put an end to their plot before it can go any further. We have room prepared for you and as soon as you are feeling well enough, which I do hope is VERY soon, you will meet the other young woman who are exiled here and begin training with them."

Emma looked up in surprise at the mention of her "beginning her training". "Begin my training? No offense Mr. Kessler, but I have been training for three years."

"No offense to you Ms. Hogan, but, you have been doing what YOU think is training. Here you will be properly trained on how to use your abilities. And I must add that things are far more different these days. You are no longer a mercenary; you are a soldier in an army. The Faithful have their own army, and you can be assured that they know how to fight as one. You must do the same. I leave them to you Mary Agnes. Aiden, Ms. Fellows, if you would accompany me." Aiden and Layla got up form their seats and followed Mr. Kessler through the large doors of his office.

"Hey, what about me? I take offense! I'm the one who's been training her so 'improperly'!" Jimmy grumbled as the doors shut with a thud. He lifted himself from his lounging position and sipped water from a glass. "Please tell me this is jet lag and it will only last another five minutes."

Mary Agnes smiled as she watched him. She marveled at how much he resembled Jonathan. His curly brown hair, his high cheek bones, and even the way he wore his glasses. "Your father didn't much care for flying either. He would invariably have the same reaction you are. He never did have a strong stomach."

The twins froze and looked at one another in amazement. Did this woman really know their father?

"Unfortunately, what you are experiencing cannot be blamed on jet lag alone. And it will most likely continue until we stop The Faithful and bring balance back to the spirit. Which, whether Martin chooses to admit it or not, off its axis since all of the incarnates were awaken. The Faithful are correct in their belief that something has to be done. But, I wouldn't go so far to say that killing off all of the slayers is the way to go about it." She chuckled uneasily and stood from her leather wing back chair and gestured for the twins to follow. "Come now, I will show you to your rooms."

They both stood, looking confused and curious, as they met her from their opposite locations in the middle of the room. "Did you know our father?" Emma spoke up eagerly.

"And your mother, yes." Mary Agnes admitted nodding her head.

The two exchanged glances and then looked back towards the lovely woman before them. "Did you work with them? How long did you know them? Did you know them well?" Jimmy ran off his string of questions in one breath.

Emma laid a hand on her excited brother's shoulder. She had to admit she was pretty anxious as well. "Easy Jimmy, take a breath. To repeat his last question though, how well did you know our parents?"

Mary Agnes smiled and pulled a couple of photographs from her suit pocket. Like the one she had been reminiscing over in the car, their edges were frayed and tattered and the colors had faded slightly. Without hesitation, she handed them over to the awaiting hands of Emma. The two looked down at the yellowed photo of a much younger and beautiful Mary Agnes sitting on a swing with a young boy they recognized immediately. As the expressions of the twins changed from curiosity to surprise, Mary Agnes' heart began to pound and her face flushed as she offered her explanation. "Well, I would like to say that I knew them quite well since I am Jonathan's mother."

They jerked their heads up quickly and their mouths seemed to drop all the way to the floor. They couldn't speak! A grandmother! THEIR grandmother! They had a grandmother! They had family! All this time they never knew, and she was there in the world! Jimmy opened and closed his mouth several times in an attempt to respond, but, it seemed that he couldn't form words. Emma just stood completely still not even trying to speak. Finally after several attempts, Jimmy spoke. "You're our grandmother?"

"Yes boyo. I am." She replied.

After a long silence, it was Jimmy who spoke again. "So what, do we hug now?"

Aiden and Layla walked the open halls of the London Motherhouse with Martin. It seemed like ages since Layla had been inside those walls. Once they had left Mr. Kessler's office reception and entered the halls, Layla walked to the balustrade in the center of the hall and looked down into the third floor. She remembered how much she loved watching the people below come and go down in the common areas below. When she was little, she thought it looked like a missing puzzle piece. A big open square in the building awaiting its final block.

As they walked together, she continuously looked down over the railing; running her hands along its smooth and polished mahogany surface. This place was as she left it; quiet yet busy. Amidst all of the fond and happy memories she had of this place, it brought back painful ones as well. The last time she had thought of her childhood home was when her parents died. It was hard to believe that this rich and beautiful place was once nearly destroyed by Naberius and his deluded legion of vampire followers a year and a half ago. "_But no time for that no. I can wallow in self pity all I want later. Time to pull my socks up and save the world again." _She thought to herself.

"Aiden, I need you to go and make sure that Ms. Guerrero is aware of Ms. Hogan's arrival and have her prepare a 'debriefing' as she so likes to describe it for our latest addition." Martin patted Aiden on the back as he began to walk away. "And dear boy please remember this time, knock before entering. It took the healers a week to get your arm back right after last time!" Aiden nodded as he rubbed his right arm and hurried off on his way.

Martin sighed as he turned back towards the day dreaming Layla. He hated to put this to her but it had to be done eventually. And Martin at least tried his best not to be a procrastinator. "Ms. Fellows. Of course you know that we need to have a chat. As you are aware, we don't take deserting lightly here. But, given the out come of your leaving unannounced, I think we can settle for a simple explanation. The fact that I happen to like you might hold a bit of weight with that as well." He smiled gently as he tilted his head to catch her eyes. She seemed to continue to look off down the hallway silently as he still struggled with her. "Love, I changed your nappies a time or two. Even cleaned up your spittle. I don't think any less of you for leaving. In fact I might even understand why if you would just tell me. I was just a little hurt that I wasn't let in on the secret."

Finally she lifted her eyes and met with his. This kind man was like a favorite uncle to her. He had always been close to her family. It wasn't that her reasons were less than admirable. It wasn't that she was afraid of being in trouble. She was afraid that she had let him down. Admitting that she had weakness was embarrassing for her. She spent most of her energies to portraying the image of woman who wasn't afraid of just about anything! And if she admitted that it wasn't completely true, then what was she?

"I'm sorry Martin. I really am. It was really hard for me to deal with everything that was going on at the time. After my parents were killed, I guess I kinda lost my faith. This great organization that I was brought up in and taught to believe in failed to protect what I held most dear in my life; my family. I began to question things, to look for alternatives to help me 'feel better'. I didn't want to hurt inside anymore. I felt empty and lost when they died and there remained this hole that not even my coven could help fill. So, when Aslyn appeared to me and said that there was an incarnate in Missouri that existed without the knowledge of the Brotherhood and would soon desperately need my help; I jumped at the chance! Although her intentions were not what she said they were, and well, pretty much turned out be completely mental, her warnings were true and I got to help save the world!" As she spoke the words, her confidence in her actions began to return. "I should have told you, I know. I'm also sorry for keeping myself hidden. But, I have been happy there, with Jimmy…. And Emma too; sometimes. Even after I had to banish Aslyn, I was happy there. I felt like I had found my place."

Martin placed a hand lovingly on her shoulder and squeezed tenderly. He never married nor had children of his own. Those who grew and lived with in these walls were his family. And the many children that ran through these halls and constantly destroyed the libraries; he loved as if they were his own. Layla was no different. In fact she stood out from the rest. It was he who held the hand of Layla's father as he lie dying on the floor of the first level lobby. He promised him then that he would keep watch over the last remaining Fellows and he had no intention of breaking that promise. No matter if the next time she ran away it was to the moon!

Layla smiled back at Martin feeling better after having explaining herself. When suddenly, an odd sensation took over her body. It was as if someone were calling out to her. She began to feel light headed and put her hands on her face to help keep steady.

"Are you alright dear?" Martin asked concerned.

"I'm just a bit knackered that's all. I think, maybe it's jet lag. Maybe I should go lie down and get some rest before I start to gen up on the whole vampire baby thing with you. I'll just head up to my room for a kip." As she walked away she couldn't help thinking of poor Howard. She was certain that something terrible had happened to him. She felt it in her gut. That lurking emotion of guilt once again began to rise in her chest. Howard had come to see her to apprise her of the situation they were all facing. That was the last anyone had heard from him. She couldn't stop herself from believing that if he hadn't come to see her, then he never would have gone missing.

After Mary Agnes' revelation, Emma had remained silent. Several moments had passed and still there was not even a sigh of mal content. She stood frozen to her spot.

Jimmy laughed uncomfortably and tried his best to lighten the atmosphere. "Boy, don't ya just love these uncomfortable silences!" Mary Agnes simply smiled and then looked down adjusting her stylish suit. Jimmy looked back at his statuesque sister and nudged her slightly. "Emma!" He grunted lowly. "Say something!"

Emma's frustration had become apparently and she flashed a violent look towards her twin brother. "You want me to say something?" She snapped and then whipped her head back around to flash the same look at her newly discovered grandmother. "Fine. How about this. Where the fuck where you?" Jimmy and Mary Agnes' mouth feel agape and Jimmy shoved Emma's shoulder. "No? Not good enough? Ok then, how about this then. Why the hell didn't you try to find us over the last twenty-five years? Hmm? Don't know? Ok then." With that, Emma pushed passed the appalled two and stormed out of the room.

Emma pushed through the doors and began to run down the hall. How could she just drop this into their laps? How could this old woman think that she could just tell them that she is their long lost grandmother and expect them to be ok about it while leaping into her arms? Her heart beat in her chest like it was breaking. She felt like a little girl again and wanted to hide. She remembered all of the times growing up; seeing all of her little friends brag about going to their grand parents' house for the weekend made her jealous. When they were children, they always wished that they had their very own grandma. Someone to bake cookies and send awful knitted sweaters that they would never wear and just hide in a drawer; someone who would spoil them beyond all reason and then send them back to their parents where they could deal with them.

Knowing now that they did have a grandmother all of this time, was painful for Emma to accept. This meant that it could have been different. It meant that they didn't have to be alone when their parents died. But it also meant that it was all over and done with and there was nothing Emma could do about it. And she hated that. She hated being reminded that she wasn't in control. It was like nails on a chalk board set in the very middle of her brain.

She continued to run down the hall and turn a corner searching for the stairs when suddenly her face made contact with a man's chest. As she tried to side step and continue to rush passed, she realized that it was Aiden's chest she had crashed into. The intoxicating smell of his cologne made me wish she had lingered there a little longer. She smiled awkwardly as she gazed up into his brilliant green eyes. He knitted his brow as he looked down at her.

"Are you lost? You must be looking for the toilet if you that big of a hurry!" He smiled back and then saw the trouble brewing her eyes. "What's the matter? You look like someone shot your dog!"

The utter compassion in Aiden's eyes threatened Emma's wall. It was her job to be tough and not to allow things to affect her. She had a responsibility to herself and to everyone around her to be hard and untrusting. What would happen if she just let herself be as "girly" as she wanted and walked around like a blubbering idiot? How was she supposed to fight blood thirsty vampires if she was too busy whining about grandmother-less childhood? But, there was something about this mysterious and devastatingly handsome man that made her feel like ice melting.

She looked at him sternly at first, but the more she hung on to his bedroom eyes, the more her face softened and the emotions came bubbling to the surface. She wanted to cry like a cartoon baby! With her mouth wide open and squalling and rivers of tears flying out from her tightly shut eyes. For some reason all she wanted to do was fall back onto his warm chest and lay there until it all went away.

Slowly, he reached forward with one of his large hands and softly moved a piece of hair away from her face. "It's ok. I won't tell anyone." He whispered.

Emma's chin quivered as she allowed herself to feel the pang in her heart. She slowly opened her mouth and spoke. "I, I never got a card with five dollars in it." Was all she could muster.

Aiden smiled and wiped a tear away from her cheek with his thumb. "You talked with Mary Agnes I take it?"

Emma blinked in confusion. "You knew?"

"Yeah. I wasn't allowed to say anything though. She wanted to be the one to tell you." His hand remained on her cheek as she nodded in agreement.

She allowed his warm hand to hold her face. It was comforting. She liked how it wasn't smooth but slightly rough and calloused. She wondered to herself if she should be worried that she was feeling these things about him so quickly. But, for the most part she didn't care. She was actually thrilled to have this sensation again. That anxious elation of wondering, what was going to happen next? That feeling of nervousness about making sure you were sending the right amount of signals without looking too desperate yet desperately interested! "_Yes, this is a good thing_", she thought to herself. Even though it seemed her world was in complete upheaval, she found herself enthralled by the dizzying effects of attraction and infatuation.

The words he whispered to her echoed in her mind. _"It's ok, I won't tell anyone."_ It was him telling her, that it was ok to be fragile in front of him. That she could allow herself to be hurt and he wouldn't tell the world that her warrior's exterior was almost solely a shell. Closing her eyes, she let her tears come and she fell into his chest allowing him to wrap his unyielding arms around her. She muffled her sobs with his muscular frame and relished in the sense of utter release wafting over her.

He smoothed her chocolate silken hair and whispered over and over again that every thing would turn out alright. These words made her heart expand with every beat. It was amazing what two simple words can do. "It's alright". He cooed. "Come on." He said. "I have a few pints in me fridge up stairs. This seems like as good an excuse as any to get sloshed!"

"Yeah." She agreed. "It is Wednesday."

They had been sitting Aiden's suite for about an hour drinking pint after pint of Guinness. She had just about told him her life story and even in her ale soaked haze, she knew she would feel like an ass tomorrow for it. But for the moment they were laughing and enjoying each other's company. She clapped and cheered as he dazzled her with his telekinetic talents. He made flowers float in thin air and Emma watched in awe as the petals would burst from the stem like earthen fireworks. She in turn, entertained him with her wit as she teased him with dry sarcasm. She told him funny stories about why she doesn't hop out of the shower any more on one leg.

"I swear!" She laughed. "I fell flat on my ass! My legs went straight up into the air, my head bounced off of the floor and there I was sliding down the hall on my back completely naked until I hit the wall!" The both laughed until no sound came from their mouths.

They sat in the darkened room slouched on his corduroy sofa laughing hard and slurping the rest of their black ale. "Seriously, I wouldn't have ever known you have a fake leg if you hadn't told me." He said as he took another gulp of his ale and nudged her shoulder. "And to tell you the truth I can't say that I even believe you now!" He challenged.

"Well, then your right. I'm freakin liar! That shiny plastic there isn't my leg it's a cast." She said as she lifted her leg to his lap and rose her cuff just enough to show the shiny flesh colored plastic.

He reached down and smoothed it with his hand. "Really?" He asked half believing her.

Emma laughed and took another drink of her Guinness. "Ha! No it's my leg."

Aiden looked at her confused and went back to touching the plastic limb. "Seriously?"

"I'm messing with you, it's a cast." She mocked trying not to laugh.

Aiden began laughing and tried to force the correct answer from her. "Come on stop acting the maggot! Which is it?"

Emma laughed harder and grabbed her sides. "I'm sorry! Seriously, it's my leg! I couldn't help it!" She raised the can to her lips and took another drink. "Man, how can you drink this all the time? Don't you have any Bud? This stuff is like drinking rye bread! So bitter!"

He stopped inspecting her leg and leaned forward offering his ale. "Maybe you should try mine then. I think it tastes fine!" He brought it to her lip and began to tilt it upwards as she drank. However, he tilted too far to fast and she couldn't keep up. This caused the Guinness to spill all over her cheeks and chin.

He chuckled as he pulled the tall can away and apologized. "Fuck me, I'm so sorry!"

Emma looked up and realized that his face was with in inches of hers. And that he had placed his hand on her right thigh to hold himself upright as he leaned across her. She couldn't deny the warmth building up inside her. It was as if her insides were on fire! She wanted so badly to be that girl that was chased for once! To be the one that was hounded with phone calls and flowers until she finally caved. But it just wasn't her! Her desire to grab a hold of him and rip all of his clothes off was more powerful than her desire to be wooed. "Oh." She mumbled softly as she looked down and then back up into his eyes. "Look what you did. Now you have to lick it off."

Only a millisecond passed before he had placed both hands aside her face and licked her from her chin to her awaiting mouth. She pushed up down with her hands to right herself and then place hers on his face. Her body tingled as her kissed her passionately and greedily; gently waving his tongue in her mouth and tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth. He licked the roof of her mouth and pressed his lips to hers then kissed both cheeks. They pulled back and looked at each other almost dazed for a moment.

"Wow." Emma said stunned.

"Now what?" Aiden asked as they both refused to let go of each others' faces.

"Well, I should probably go. I should apologize to Mary Agnes and Jimmy." Emma stammered still not letting go of Aiden's face.

Aiden nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, you probably should. But it is getting late."

"I could always tell them in the morning." She added before once again falling into a passionate kiss. This time Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck as he allowed himself to fall backward with her falling forward on top of him.

She gave in completely as he covered her in kisses and ran his hands down her spine. Her head was spinning! She couldn't believe that someone as amazing as him was kissing her!

Every once in a while, they would bump noses or hit each others teeth causing them to laugh and point at one another. He slowly slid his hand under her t-shirt and grazed her back. His hand against her skin felt like electric to her and it quickened her passion all the more.

Aiden tried to suavely roll over onto her, but being that they were on a couch it became more of an awkward jerking. Eventually, they both rolled and then fell onto the floor. After first erupting into laughter, they found each other once more and slowly crawled back to the couch where Aiden successfully laid himself on top of her.

Emma reached up this time and ran her hands under his shirt, up his chest until she found his flex pectorals. She pushed with her arms and tried in vain to pull his shirt from his body only to have it catch on his nose and yank his head back. "Sorry." She whispered as he pulled it over his head the rest of the way.

As Aiden removed Emma's shirt at about the same success rate as she had with his, he nuzzled her neck forcing her head further into the couch cushion. When she began to pat his back signaling him that she couldn't breathe, he stopped and yanked her back up out of the couch. This allowed her to gasp for air.

"Sorry." He apologized as she leapt forward onto him which once again knocked them from the couch. They laid there laughing as Aiden spoke. "You know, I was going to suggest moving into the bedroom, but, how do you casually walk into 'the bedroom' without it being murderously awkward?"

Emma leaned over and pressed her lips to his tightly and then smiled. "Well, I guess we'll just have to run! Race ya!" She yelled as she leapt from the floor and took off like a shot for the open doorway across the room.

As Aiden lifted himself from the floor, he thought to himself about the amazing creature that had stumbled into his life. It had only been one day, but he knew she was something special. She had that hidden vulnerability that most strong women have that made him want to hold her, caress her, and take care of her. She was feisty, proud, funny and smart. Emma Hogan was the most beautiful and surprising woman he had ever met.

With all of these thought rampaging through Aiden's head, he made it to his feet and ran after the petit vixen that he knew would steal his heart.

Layla tossed and turned in her posh and fluffy four poster canopy bed. Her dreams were chaotic and jumbled. Images flashed in front of her mind like so many flash card being thrown into a fan. She fought tirelessly to focus on one thought at a time, but the voices began to rise to deafening levels. "STOP IT!" She screamed hoping that vocalizing her demand would make everything fall into place. But, all continued to whirl around her like a hurricane.

She knew that this was no dream. But she couldn't make head from tails of it. She reached down with in herself to find what she needed to pull the thoughts together, but still, they seemed meaningless and random.

"Fine. Then, if this is happening in a dream, then I will treat it like one." She imagined herself in a great white room with the "cards" swirling around her. She threw her right hand in front of her and opened her eyes that began to glow brilliant blue. As she did, the cards stop in there places and began to reverse their tracks; stacking together as a deck. When they had done so, Layla turned her hand palm up and waited as the deck slowly landed there.

Holding the deck, Layla sat down Indian style and began to shuffle. "Ok, you unruly little buggers, you're going to show me what you are here to show me." She cut the deck and started to lay them out as if they were tarot. When she did, their true purpose and origin came through clearly. She looked at the cards without astonishment but in reverence.

"Howard." She said aloud. "Ok, show me everything!"


End file.
